The Stranger
by HumanDisorder
Summary: "A fresh take with classic characters you've come to know and love. A gripping story you won't want to put down." Sam and Dean know how to handle anything that the world throws their way. Until they visit The Roadhouse and meet Jo and Ellen's long-time friend and psychic, J. She has a way of getting in your head, leaving everyone, Dean especially, wanting more. I do not own SPN!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The Roadhouse was not your typical dive bar; not by a long shot. If you were just passing through looking for a beer, this was your only option for miles in any direction. But damn those beers are good.

It wasn't just the beer that made The Roadhouse special. It was its patrons. Each one was a hunter. No, no, not like deer or elk. More like monsters. Yes, monsters. Vampires, Werewolves, and Witches. Oh, my! Yes, monsters are real.

The things under the bed and the other things in the closet that go bump in the night are just figments of a scared child's imagination. But these things are real. They are very much real, and can very much kill you. And The Roadhouse, dim and dusty as it was, was somewhat of a haven, a home, for hunters of this type.

This group of people, few as they were, had a particular set of skills, weapons, and know-how to keep a lot of people safe, and alive. And they all filtered through this bar. Not a hunter around didn't know The Roadhouse. After hunts, or just traveling through, you could always count on at least a couple of scruffy-looking dudes in the corner. The kind you don't take to making eye contact with; Or possibly a scrawny redneck in cutoffs, with a mullet.

Ellen, the matriarch of The Roadhouse, could make you feel as welcome as anyone of her daily regulars, no matter where you are coming from and where you are going. She is very welcoming, but you can tell she is not one to take anyone's bullshit. Know there's a shotgun under the bar for when folks forget their place. She is also Radio One when it comes to the "official" goings-on of the hunting world. There wasn't a hunter she hadn't met at least once, there wasn't any major hunt that she did not know about.

She was a sort of Mother Hen when it came to more than a few of her patrons, especially her daughter Jo. And she would be exactly as you expect. Jo was in her late teens, early 20s. Blonde. Spunky as all get out, could kick the ass of a grown man twice her size, with a smile that lit up a room. When she wasn't out on hunts, small jobs that her mother sent her on when there was no other hunter around, she was behind that grimy bar.

Be careful with that pretty face, though. Disrespect is not taken kindly to. Those long legs end in boots that have been up plenty a rude man's ass. She throws one hell of a right hook. Even though Ellen only sent her on small jobs, Jo was a great hunter. And she made THE BEST Sex on the Beach, ever.

Dean pulled Baby into the gravel parking lot of The Roadhouse. Feeling that slight sense of Home that came to him whenever he pulled up. It was always a sigh of relief when that building came into sight. This was one of the few places he felt comfortable. He got out of the car and shut the door.

Today was like any other slow day at the end of July at The Roadhouse. Hot and humid. Even in the cool AC of The Roadhouse, the few drinks that were on the bar were sitting in pools of condensation. Until the doors opened. Filling the dimly lit room with Noonday sun.

When Dean and Sam walked through the door, they were met with a scream.

"You two haven't shown your pretty faces around these parts in a long time! It's good to see you!" yelled Jo as she ran around the bar to greet them.

"It's good to see you, too, Jo." Sam said, a full foot above her head as he wrapped her in a side-hug.

All three of them turned suddenly when they heard the door to the backroom open with a bang. In the door frame stood a middle-aged woman. A surprised look on her face.

"Well, look who it is. Why haven't either of you called!?" Ellen had come out of the backroom at her daughter's scream. Now with hands on hips and an eyebrow raised in admonishment.

"You think one of you could have picked up a phone in the last few months! Even a text would have sufficed."

"Sorry, Ellen." Dean said weakly. "We have been going hunt, to hunt, to hunt. It's been busy lately with all the demon activity in the southwest. I bet you've heard all about that by now."

"Yeah. I've heard a fair few stories. It's good to see you, boys." Ellen smiled and walked over for her round of hugs.

As Sam and Dean took turns retelling their most recent jobs, Dean glanced over Ellen's shoulder. He noticed something in the corner of the bar by the pool table. There were a few patrons in the bar that day, nothing too special about any of them. The pretty girl at the bar didn't even interest him today, but there was still a strange sight. Something that took a moment to register in his mind.

In the corner, there was a table that was laden down with all sorts of books and a whole spread of papers. Maps, charts, printed-out pages and hand-written pages. Books that looked ancient and one that looked like Dad's Journal. Some open on top of the next in piles. It looked like someone was deep in research of the Hunting persuasion.

_That _was normal. Dean had seen that plenty of times here at The Roadhouse. Only this time it wasn't Ash leaning over the pile. It was a woman. Dark hair pilled messily in a bun on top of her bent head. She was busy comparing a chart of symbols to a book that looked older than anything Dean had ever seen outside of Bobby's library.

Dean was sure that he had been around The Roadhouse long enough now to know The Regulars, or at least recognize most by sight. He was also versed on many a hunter. Dean was also sure he had never seen this woman before. He definitely would have noticed.

She was tall, brunette. Slightly fuller in figure. She had muscle under that smooth top layer. She had a sort of punky/goth vibe about her, even with her back to him. Not like the magazine babes he had grown so used to seeing recently. She was perfectly filled out in all the right places. Black short shorts and a black tank top was her outfit of choice. With black combat boots.

'Nice boots.' Dean thought to himself as he took in this stranger. She blindly reached for another chart and knocked over a stack of books. When she bent down to pick up the pile, Dean caught just a glimpse of red lace under those black short shorts.

"DEAN WINCHESTER YOU GET YOUR EYES OFF MY ASS, NOW!"

What the…?

The stranger suddenly stood tall and turned around. Flashing eyes boring directly into Dean's.

He jumped back so fast he almost tripped. Almost like those eyes had physically burned him. But he didn't want to look away. She had him held there; eyes locked.

Jo started laughing. Why was Jo laughing?

Dean couldn't think with Jo laughing and this strange woman advancing on him. He almost tripped again.

"Oh, now you can't think. GREAT. Thanks, and all, about the boots, but could you stop staring at my ass. That would be awesome."

Jo at this point was crying in hysterics and Ellen was starting to chuckle.

The stranger gave one last warning look at Dean before turning her attention to Sam.

She looked up and her expression warmed considerably, a smile spreading across her face. "So, if he's Dean, you must be Sam." She said as she extended her hand. Sam did the same. "Nice to meet you. This is my idiot brother, Dean, as you already know."

"Dean." She stuck her hand out to shake his. The intense look she had given Dean was gone from her eyes, but in its place, a certain warmth, that almost radiated from her as she looked back at him. It was very welcoming considering the Death Glare he had just received. Wow. Firm grip.

"Name's J. Nice to finally meet the famous, and/or infamous. Winchesters. I have already heard so much about you. Seems some things are truer than others." Dean saw a flash in those eyes as she quickly looked back at him.

Did this chick really just literally say '_and/or_'? Out loud? What a dork!

Sam pipped up, "Say… can I ask? How did you…?"

"…Know your brother was staring at my ass? Well, TL; DR version of the story is I'm a psychic. Like, think traveling carnivals. I'm literally out of a sideshow. Crystal balls, palm reading, auras, the whole cliché kit, and caboodle. My 'gift'" she put up her hands and made the quotation symbols with her fingers. Dean suppressed a smile. "is mind reading. I usually can't really read someone, or someone's mind, as clearly as that... But I was open and he had a… a very clear image."

"And a very loud mind." She laughed awkwardly and looked at her boots. It was all actually kind of cute. Wait, what did she just say!?

Jo almost fell off the barstool she had perched herself upon after regaining her composure. She fell into another fit of giggles.

"You can read minds!?" Dean blurted out, almost too quickly to be considered completely innocent.

Jo was clinging to the bar for support at Deans's reaction. "Not necessarily. The more focused you are, the easier it is for me to get a picture of your mind. The less you have going on up there, the clearer the picture is. In your case, all I saw was my own ass. I will admit, I was open to your thoughts, but my back was to the door. Wild Bill's mistake will not be mine. I also wasn't about to butt into what was obviously a family reunion either… But you took care of _that _one for me."

Jo finally stopped for a breath. This time Ellen gave a hearty laugh, and so did Sam. Great. Four against one. The odds are never in Dean's favor.

"You know she has a point. Shouldn't have been looking in the first place. By the way… When was the last time you got laid, Deano?" pipped up Jo, teasingly. She was slightly out of breath from the laugh attack.

Dean flushed. He couldn't remember. _BUT THAT DIDN'T MATTER RIGHT NOW!_ What did matter was that someone, other than himself, knew about the Old West enough to know Wild Bill was superstitious about sitting with his back to the door. And ultimately died that way. Who is this chick, anyway?

"So how have you two, been? What's been going on around here since we last came around?" Sam, thankfully, chimed in to change the subject and save himself, or his brother, from even more embarrassment. Which one it was, Dean was not sure.

"It was good meeting you. On that note, I'll just get back to it and let you guys catch up. I have a lot of work to do. Remember, no ass starting." J said, pointing at Dean, as she turned back to the laden down table.

This launched Ellen into the most recent goings-on in the Hunting World outside of the Impala.

With one last long look, or what felt like long, Dean looked into J's eyes again. He noticed one was bright green with honey flecks. The other was a sweet honey brown with glittering spots of green. Like emeralds. Honey dipped emeralds.

He hoped she wasn't reading his anything right now. Hell. _HE_ didn't even know what just happened. He certainly wasn't about to be thinking about it, on any kind of level, right now. Not with what had just happened. What just happened? Dean's ego was thoroughly bruised, that's what.

And there was a new girl in town.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The rest of the afternoon carried on with Ellen, Jo, Ash, Sam, and Dean having a few beers while catching up on the latest news and hunting stories. Occasionally a patron would roll through. Maybe join in on the conversation for a beat or two, or just keep to themselves during their rounds of drinks.

What seemed like hours ticked by as the friends socialized and caught up with everyone's most recent hunting stories. Ash had passed out on one of the pool tables about halfway through their little pow wow.

Dean had almost forgotten about the woman in the corner. Until she got up from her table, walked over, and addressed the group.

"Hey guys I'm going to go grab some food and bring it back, do ya'll want anything?"

She wrote down their orders, grabbed her backpack, and left.

Dean honestly did forget about her. She was very quiet and they had gotten quite loud with their banter as the drinks flowed. He felt slightly bad for that now that he thought about her alone in the corner working with all those books and charts and who knows what else. Maybe she and Sammy should set up a study session. He smiled to himself at how ridiculous he sounded.

"So, what's with that J chick?" he asked.

"Dean! That's not rude at all." Sam clucked at him, only half-way meaning it.

You could tell he was just as interested in either Ellen or Jo enlightening them on this mysterious person as Dean was. Well, maybe not as interested as Dean. She was something different. Dean was allowed to think about that now while she was gone, right?

"She's a loner. She has been coming around here for years. Her and Jo kind of grew up together, you could say. She comes in when she has these 'projects', as she calls them, in this area." Ellen said, looking up at them.

"She's good to have around at times. She is a damn good hunter. Her daddy taught her well. A natural if you'd go that far."

"She has saved my neck in more than a few situations. Hunting or otherwise. On top of that, her predictions and readings are far more accurate than anything I've encountered before." Said Jo. She paused like she was remembering something. _Fondly_ remembering something.

Was it just Dean or did Jo become a little misty-eyed there for a second?

"And no, she cannot read minds. At least not like what we are used to." She snapped at the look on Dean's face.

All he could think of was "I am in trouble." Mind reading in any capacity was NOT GOOD for Dean Winchester. OH, NO! He liked to keep his mind to himself, thank you very much. It's a private place, man! Especially when it came to anyone with eyes like that. The kind that looked directly into your soul. There had to be cosmic rules against this.

Rules against eyes like that. That was one thing about her that filled his mind now that he thought of this stranger. Her eyes. They seemed to see right through him, right into him. He could only now think of it and recall the events of earlier. How cute and dorky she was when she talked to Sammy earlier.

"Yeah, so what's with that?" Sam asked. "I didn't want to ask more earlier because numb nut over here made an ASS out of himself." Sam thumbed towards Dean.

Dean returned it with one of his own legendary Bitchfaces.

"If you focus on something, hard enough, she will be able to tell what it is, usually." Jo sighed. "If she's trying like she was earlier, it's way easier for her. She can read a room as easily as you can see it. She sees images of what's going in insides your head, I guess. But when it comes to the psychic thing, she usually closes herself off on purpose. Shuts that part down. To protect herself and others. She told me she felt it was an invasion of privacy and would hate to have anyone in her head, feeling or seeing any of her thoughts the way she can. That being open all the time also leaves her vulnerable. So, I can promise you your thoughts are safe. Mostly…" Jo said, matter-of-factly.

"If that's what you are so worried about. You must really have been looking to make her see that, Dean." Ellen added. She looked at Dean with a tip of her head to admonish him for being rude to a woman; in her bar.

Dean felt his temperature rise a few degrees under his collar, but you would never be able to tell.

He hoped you wouldn't be able to tell.

Blue Steel. He was Blue Steel.

Sam saved him, again, with a few more questions about J's abilities, and Ellen and Jo's relationship with her. Jo was giggling a little too much when she talked about J, in Dean's honest opinion. Dean didn't think anything else of it. It was probably just the beer.

Before they knew it, J was back with the food.

She put the bags down on the bar, grabbed everyone a fresh beer, and sat down with them. Did she just wink at Jo!? Dean thought he might be seeing things until he saw red creep the edges of Jo's face. _NO WAY!_

Then J looked him dead in the eyes again. Did he see an echo of a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth? He forgot to breathe for a second and then remembered not to focus on anything too much. He shook his head and grabbed his food.

He cleared his head quickly with the double bacon cheeseburger in front of him. He was starving. When was the last time he ate? And where did J get these burgers, OH MY GOD!

As he dug in, he had another faint thought in the back of his head. Of Jo and J. It was so fleeting he knew she wouldn't be able to 'hear' it. It was kinda hot. He looked from Jo to J quickly so neither of them would notice. Yeah, that was insanely hot.

J finally spoke a little bit more about herself during their meal. Her dad passed on a hunt a few years before. He taught her all about hunting.

She didn't seem to want to talk about that very much. So, no one pressed.

She talked about her aunt on her mom's side that taught her everything she knew about every 'trick in the trade' of being the kind of psychic she was. About how she closes herself off as Jo had said earlier. How it took her years to learn how to "turn it off and on like a switch." As J put it.

Turns out that being able to turn it off and on makes J even better at cards than Dean was when he cheated. He lost $300 that night to her in various card games. He just could not win.

As the night progressed Dean noticed everyone got progressively tipsier. Less beer, more shots. But J never drank anything other than water. Even Sam was joining in on the liquid fun tonight. He vaguely wondered if that's how she swindled him out of all those card games…


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sam and Dean walked into The Roadhouse. Dean looked around and saw J. She was bent over her work again. Same as when he and Sam had first walked into The Roadhouse. Only this time she wasn't wearing the black shorts and t-shirt she had been earlier. In fact, she was actually wearing nothing but a pair of lace boy short panties and a matching bra. Red.

He did a double-take before he realized it was actually just her in the bar. Even Sam had disappeared, but that did not concern Dean in the slightest. He was too busy eyeing that perfectly round, squeezable, and spankable ass that swayed slightly in front of him.

"Dean Winchester, you naughty boy. Looking at a perfect stranger that way. That's not very nice." J turned to him, with arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes were now on Dean. Entirely on him. What felt like every part of him at once, even though she never dropped her gaze from his.

"Umm, you can read my mind?" Dean asked. His voice cracking did nothing in keeping the appearance of cool, calm, and collected in front of this… this… inhumanly hot… was she even human? She could not be human.

She couldn't be real. Dean thought. Those eyes are NOT human. But they were so inviting. So, tempting. He wanted to lose himself in them. The sweet honey. The deep emerald. Honey covered emeralds. What a color pairing there ever was. Caramel covered apples. Those caramel apple lollipops. His mouth was watering slightly.

Her gaze softened before she said "Don't worry, sweetheart. Most guys think what you were thinking. When they first see me." She dropped her gaze, suddenly shy. "Normally, I can only see flashes of what you concentrate on. I can turn that off if you want. But I don't think you want me to stop."

Then J shifted her weight, dropped her hands, cocked her waist and looked back up at Dean. A new confidence there that was not there before. A flash.

Piercings.

She had nipple piercings. Through the red lace, Dean could make out the jewelry. Not only did she have nipple piercings, but she also had different ones. Left nipple had a straight barbell. Clean and simple. The right had a bullring. Just enough to really get your teeth on. For playing. For pulling. Her breasts were on the smaller side. But perky. They looked so soft. He wanted to touch them to see if he was right. Their eyes met again and hers flashed.

She chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

Now Dean looked up at her face again and really looked this time, deciding to pretend he hadn't heard anything. Aside from The Eyes, she had a very beautiful face. She was pretty. But not overly so.

Her lips were perfect on her, Dean thought as his eyes dropped to her lips. Full, just a tab pouty. Perfect for nibbling on. She wasn't wearing any makeup, and Dean liked it that way. Everyone he usually sexed-up had so much makeup on he often was left wondering how much money was really on their face. And how much they would leave behind… She did have eyeliner on.

Dean had made the mistake of looking back up. Back up into those eyes. It was only barely noticeable. Almost like it had been washed off, but not all the way. Maybe from yesterday?

'If she was dolled up, she'd be drop-dead gorgeous. What did they say online? Goth Girlfriend Goals as fuck?' Dean thought. 'I wouldn't stand a chance.' He dropped his gaze immediately following that particular thought. Imagining those chokers, one of those strappy harnesses, and all.

J giggled this time. "You know, I do have a couple of those."

Dean felt the heat rise in his face. Knowing full well there was no hiding the pink flush that was inevitably there.

She came closer. Dean couldn't help but to look up. His eyes traveled up, along her long, toned legs. They carried her even closer. How her hips moved as she took the last few steps. How she shrugged to cause a cascade of hair to fall forward around her shoulders.

His gaze was stuck on a tattoo that was below her bust, and directly above her navel. The anti-possession symbol the center of extraordinarily intricate designs that fanned out on either side.

Dean was suddenly hyper-aware of how the black lines were actually raised skin. How, if he reached out to touch these black lines, he would be able to feel the design beneath his fingers. Like braille. What kind of tattoo is this?

She reached out and caught his cheek in her hand right as she pushed herself up almost flush again him. Nothing was touching. But Dean could _FEEL_ her there. Could feel the hand on his cheek. The warmth of it. The warmth of her. Her body was so damn close to his. So close.

He knew better than to look up the rest of the way so he continued to stare at the intricate and delicate line work of her tattoo. It was like a filigreed gun barrel. Like the barrel of his favorite gun. Dean did not want to move, for fear of any of this stopping. Whatever what happening.

The hand on his cheek turned to fingers running the length of his scruffy jawline.

"Boy's got a jawline for days." She said lazily as she traced his jawline lightly with her fingertips. Catching his chin with her index finger and raising his eye to meet hers again.

She wasn't short by any means. She looked like she could hold her own against a guy of Dean's size. Even if he was almost a head above her. He noticed how tall she really was when he realized how close her face was to his. There was strength behind that hand. This was insanely attractive.

Dean suddenly had a thought. A very powerful image shot through his brain. He wanted to see if he could overpower her. Physically. Or if she really could hold her own in a wrestling match. In the end, he concluded that he could easily overpower her, but he felt he would receive one hell of a fightback. All consensual, of course.

For a moment, his breath hitched in his throat at the thought. He continued to imagine what kind of fight she would give back. If she knew any hand to hand. The thought of this cause another wave of blood to flood Dean's skin.

Then, J smiled a smile that should have been illegal to use on anyone. A knowing smile. A mischievous smile. Dean knew that J had just seen the exact same image he had seen in his mind. There was no doubt this time.

He was positive that knew she saw him, if not felt him, flush completely again at the thought. He wanted a fight. He wanted a challenge. He wanted this to not be easy. Did he want her to have the advantage of mind-reading?

He licked his lips. His mouth was dry. What exactly of this can she hear anyway? How much is he fucking himself over by letting his mind and eyes run free. He dropped his eyes to the tattoo again.

This was neutral territory, right?

J just kept standing there. Way too close. Waiting. But what was she waiting for?

He shyly looked up again, only enough to notice a slight sprinkling of freckles, just barely visible on her nose. It had a small divot down the center that he wanted to reach out and touch. While his hand was there, he wanted to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear and run his hand through it.

It was not in its confines of earlier. It was a special shade of dark chocolate brown, with natural red undertones. It was down and hanging around her shoulders. And longer than Dean had expected. It fell in many ringlets that reached down to her elbows.

He wondered how it would feel in his hands. Wrapped around his fingers. If she wanted, she could easily have hidden herself completely in that hair, covered herself. But she stood proud. Watching Dean's assessment. His every look. Once again Dean wondered what she could read from him.

"Tell me what you're thinking, Dean." Asked J.

"What do you already know?" Dean asked, mouth extremely dry.

"I know you are in a right state looking at me. I know that you're staring at my tattoo. Anyone could tell that by your little friend down there."

Dean looked down and saw the massive tent he was pitching. Great. Does it always have to be that obvious? When he looked up, she was so close he could smell her shampoo. Woodsy. Nutty. Sweet notes. Warm. He had smelled this aroma before and he found it intoxicating. He could not remember where he had smelled this before.

"Please tell me what you're thinking, Dean." J almost whined softly.

"Honey covered emeralds." She continued in a whisper. Right next to his ear. Shivers ran down his spine.

Something was making noise somewhere in the distance. What was that sound, exactly?

"I want to know." She pleaded. "I want you to tell me. I can read you, but I need you to tell me, Dean." Her voice beginning to be drowned out completely by another noise entirely.

Who the hell was running a coffee grinder?!

Dean sat up on the creaky mattress of the motel room him and Sam were staying. Since Ellen and Jo were hosting J, they did not have any extra room at their place for two big guys.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts. He had just had a dream. A very sexy and extremely confusing dream. About the new girl. J. The one who can 'read minds.' And now he had massive morning wood to show for it. 'My subconscious throwing me for a doozy again. Wouldn't be the first time.' Dean thought to himself as he grabbed his stuff and hastily darted into the bathroom. Nothing a cold shower won't fix. Dean Winchester is the master of his domain and will remain so. Even with an extremely hot psychic in the mix. He could handle this. No problem.

When Dean came out of the shower Sam was heading out the door to grab coffee and breakfast. After Sam left Dean grabbed his computer and booted her up. Time to find a job to work.

Sam came back a short while later with coffee and bagels. They ate in silence as Sam had grabbed his computer to start doing research of his own.

As they sat at their computers looking at news sites for anything that looked remotely close to like a job, Sam noticed Dean's focus kept slipping and he would catch him looking off into space. Sometimes for minutes at a time. He wasn't used to Dean's focus slipping when it came to job hunting. Sam almost had to snap his fingers in Dean's face to get him to snap out of wherever his mind was at one point. Sam wondered what was up but ultimately chalked it up to poor sleep on a crappy motel mattress. Ellen's couch was more comfortable, even he had to admit.

No matter what he tried, Dean's mind kept slipping. Back into the dream. Back to The Roadhouse last night. Back to J. No matter how hard he tried to sit still and get some work done, he found he just could not. He would lose himself in the memories. Finding that he was studying them, rather than just playing them over and over in his head. He was analyzing everything. Sometimes he would catch himself and forced himself to remain focused on the task of finding a job. Sometimes Sam would be the one to notice.

At one point, Sam even waved his hand in front of his face to get his attention because he was so zoned out. His laptop was half dead and he had barely even begun to really delve into any new site for clues when Sam closed his.

"I think we should head to The Roadhouse. I'm finding Jack on anything local. Maybe Ellen will have something for us to look into. And you cannot seem to concentrate on this right now."

Dean ignored the last comment and agreed about visiting The Roadhouse. It was lunchtime anyway. They could stop somewhere on the way and grab a bite to eat. Dean was ravenous. For food. And for more information about J. The latter would have to wait. If he was too forward someone would notice. If he concentrated too much on it, J could possibly pick up on it. He knew he shouldn't. He knew it would be best left alone. Easier. But damn if that dream didn't get him thinking. He wanted the challenge. Dean could not lie to himself.

And J was all sorts of a challenge, he would come to realize.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sam and Dean rolled through the doors of The Roadhouse later that afternoon. And again, Dean was left with another peculiar sight from the far corner of the room. The same mess of books and various pieces of paper remained mostly unchanged. What had changed was the group around the table. Jo was on one side, and Ash was on the other. In the center, facing the doorway this time, was J. Her dark chocolate brown hair was down today. Down to her elbows. Dean noticed. His mouth went dry.

'Son of a bitch.' Dean thought to himself, as he and Sam walked over to the group.

"Hey, guys!" Sam greeted.

"What are you working on?"

Ash looked up and fist-bumped Sam and said "Man, we are tracing one serious witch. Some serious power on this one. He has managed to draw attention to himself among psychics because his literal presence is a disturbance in their Force."

"Yeah, this one likes bowling allies, was born under a Sagittarius New Moon and was the bastard son of a handmaiden." J sniggered to herself before she looked up at Sam and Dean.

"Hey, guys. And, yeah, that's basically the layman's terms for what we're doing. I know he's going to be here, at the bar, tonight; I've made sure of it. That's all I know. They are helping me find other facts that can help me paint a bigger picture if you know what I mean."

She winked at Dean.

"I will just need to follow him from here and take him out. Clean and simple." She looked back down at the chart she was looking at in her hand, inside a book filled with hand-drawn diagrams. That same book that looked a lot like Dad's Journal. That must be her version.

Sam immediately jumped into questions. His eyes lighting up at the prospect of learning something new. Things like how astrology and stuff like that had to do with hard evidence and facts. Dean had to stop listening after a few minutes. All this psychic mumbo jumbo wasn't his speed. At least not at the moment.

He let Sam continue talking adamantly with J and Ash about the case and the details.

Meanwhile, Dean meandered to the bar, grabbed himself a beer, popped it, then took a long sip. Jo was almost right behind, but she grabbed a bottle of water, taking the barstool next to Dean, facing the other group.

"She is something, isn't she?" Jo remarked after a few minutes.

Dean choked on his beer. "What do you mean, Jo?" he managed to cough out.

"J, dude. She's a great hunter. Smart as a whip. And she's got the best ass." Jo sighed, tilting her head to the side slightly like she was remembering and reminiscing, rather than fantasizing, as she looked back at J.

Dean looked at her. Completely shocked.

"Are you two a thing? And since _WHEN_?" Suddenly Dean felt like a Big Brother and very protective of Jo from this J person. She was still a stranger, after all. And this was his family.

Jo took a deep breath and sighed. "On and off for a few years now. If you want to put a label on it, she's my best friend with benefits."

Dean cocked his head to the side, eyebrows raised. Jo looked at him and said, with a tinge of sadness in her voice, "We both travel too much. You know how that goes. How this life is. It is what it is, Dean."

"Oh." Was the only thing Dean was able to say without any kind of reaction or emotion. He looked away, back at the group still deep in discussion.

Looks like Sammy did get his nerdy study session after all. He was now elbows deep in all the books J had spread around. That made Dean smirk a little bit. Nerds.

"You like her, too. Don't ya Deano? I can tell. You have the same look I had. Sam is enamored, too. We can both see that. Although, in a totally different way it seems, so there is no worrying about that. Less competition." Jo smiled at him.

"So, did you dream about her last night?" Jo asked.

Dean turned to her and openly scoffed. How could she know about that?

"You totally did, didn't you!" Jo suddenly was a little more serious than Dean thought was necessary for the conversation they were in the middle of having.

"What if I did?" he said unevenly, coolly. Keeping his expression as plain and unreadable as he could without giving away his obvious shock.

"It's part of the psychic thing. It happened in your head. Right? Why does that make it any less real?" Jo said in such a way that made it sound like the only logical explanation, but also the most entirely insane explanation at the same time.

"What are you smoking, and can I have some?" He looked her dead in the eye and asked.

There was NO WAY what she was even implying could be true. No way in hell, even though he did have a dream. There is no way Jo was not playing some kind of joke on him.

"Dude! I wish someone would have told me what was going on with me! I thought I was going out of my mind. I thought she was some kind of monster. I made her pass every test in the book, Dean. That was before I saw her tattoo." Jo said in hushed, but very serious tones.

Dean suddenly knew this was completely serious and was nowhere near being a joke. There was no other way for Jo to mention the very distinct tattoo J had in Dean's dream unless she really did have it. He took a moment to gather himself before he continued.

"I did dream about her last night, Jo. What's going on?" Dean said in a serious tone. Considering he was admitting that he, in fact, did have a dream about J the night before.

"Means she likes you." Was all Jo said. A smirk on her face now.

"It means she what? Likes me? How does her liking me have anything to do with my dreams and her being in them?" Dean said, feeling suddenly extremely frustrated with Jo.

Jo's eyes flashed knowingly and she pressed her lips together and shook her head. "I'm not going to say anything else. You will see for yourself. At least you know you are not crazy. That's more than what I had to go off of. So, you can thank me for that, Dean Winchester."

Jo slid off the barstool and went to rejoin the group. Leaving Dean alone with his thoughts. A few things we certain. Jo was not lying and his dream did have something to do with J. Other than it being about her.

Whatever the reasons were, he did not know. He knew his thoughts were most likely safe. Especially right now since J was in the middle of a group of conversing people. He knew he wanted to know more about this woman named J.

Since he knew his thoughts were safe. He went through his dream a few more times to think about it in an analytical sense, as well as just letting the images wash through his mind again. He thought about what Jo had said. What she had told him, exactly. What that could possibly mean, and which of those possibilities was most likely right.

It was a good five minutes before Dean joined the group to help pin-point this witch before he made his appearance tonight at The Roadhouse.

He kept the conversation with Jo and his dream from his mind for the rest of the afternoon. It turns out that this psychic mumbo jumbo was actually pretty interesting.

Dean was impressed. And it was hard to do that, just ask Sam. J was very knowledgeable in her crafts, and of hunting in general. Dean threw in some random questions, when he could, to test her knowledge a little bit without being obvious about it.

She was very nice and he didn't want to seem rude. Also, because he thought it was hot, but that was secondary of course.

Her plan was solid. Catch him here and lead him away from everyone else.

Very simple, very easy.

Being the gentleman that he was, Sam offered to help in any way. A hunt was a hunt and going alone was dangerous. J sighed and looked at the big Moose.

"I appreciate your willingness and want to help, but you cannot help me. I hunt alone for a reason. Please respect that." She said sweetly up to him.

"Of course, J." Sam said while looking slightly put off. Not because of the rejection of his offer of help, but because he honestly thought J needed back up. Dean saw the concern on his brother's face. He was thinking that Sam was right. But this wasn't their hunt.

Everyone went their separate way in the late afternoon. They would all converge back at The Roadhouse later that night. J agreed it was better having extra eyes; As long as no one interfered.

Jo needed to get the bar ready.

Ellen had come back from town with supplies.

Ash was still passed out on the pool table. Having woken up and passed back out a few times during their little study session.

J needed to prepare for her hunt. Which meant she needed to be alone for a few hours at least beforehand. Get that psychic mojo flowing. At least that's what Dean guessed.

He and Sam went back to the diner down the road for some dinner before returning to the motel for a few hours.

Sam went to take a nap, and Dean went to cleaning his guns.

Dean grabbed his favorite gun. His dad had given it to him as a 21st birthday present. 50 cal. Revolver. Longnose.

Every inch of exposed metal had the finest filigree work you had ever seen. It was a work of art. Dean only took it out for special occasions. Special hunts. The ones that mean something. Not just any other job.

The craftsmanship was nothing like Dean has ever seen before. It was the best present he had ever received. Besides the charm he wore around his neck that Sammy gave him years ago.

He was reminded of J's tattoo and Dean wondered if it was real. If J really did have the tattoo he saw in his dream. The one Jo mentioned earlier. The filigree work on her made her even more of a work of art.

He thought back to earlier.

Since he rejoined the group that afternoon, he learned that J was quiet, yet commanded the attention when she spoke. She was very warm despite her initial impression on him. And honestly, who was Dean to say. He was staring at her ass. Jo was definitely right about one thing. That ass, though.

J was funny. In the most sarcastic way. She had so many wisecracks and snarky comebacks ready to sling.

She had Sam gasping for air over one thing or another.

Dean was able to keep his mind clear of anything that would be embarrassing to be caught thinking about. For that, he was grateful.

This "one that likes bowling allies, was born under a Sagittarius New Moon, and was the bastard son of a handmaiden." Was actually a very old, and very powerful, male witch. He fed off the life force of young and gullible humans to stay young. Using one black magic spell or another.

J didn't go too much into that part. She was using the old Bait 'Em and Gank 'Em technique. Which Dean found very interesting in conversation at the bar earlier.

This particular witch has survived hundreds of years. Meaning that's hundreds of years' worth of experiences. Sam had brought this last point up a few times since they left The Roadhouse.

"I just think it would be better if someone had her back." Sam said as they got dressed to head back to The Roadhouse a few hours later.

"Just let her do her thing, Sammy. You really don't know this chick. And she made it plain she didn't want any help. Remember Gordon?"

"Yes, I remember Gordon. But J isn't Gordon. Ash and Jo were not helping Gordon, were they? Besides, it seems Jo and J are close. I trust Jo's judgment. I'm just saying, logically speaking, back up is never a bad thing." Sam said, rather forcibly.

He saw another Bitchface creep into Sam's expression. Seems his little bro was feeling protective of J. Already. Dean dropped the subject as they left the motel.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the views, follows, and favorite!

It is still very odd publishing this. I currently have 24 chapters to this story written and a lot more for the timeline.

I figured I would upload the first few rapid-fire to get, ya'll into the story.

From now on I will be posting once or twice a week.

Hopefully, I don't catch up to myself too quick.

Thank you for reading, and enjoy.

**Chapter 5**

The Roadhouse was pretty crowded. Dean had forgotten it was a Friday night. He and Sam wound their way through the throngs of people to the bar. Both Ellen and Jo were slinging drinks.

When Jo brought them their drinks, she sat down with them for a few seconds to explain the final plan now that everything was moving into action.

"Ok guys. Remember to keep a sharp eye out. J will make it clearly known who the target is. You keep your eyes on this job AND ONLY YOUR EYES. If you get any wild ideas, come find me or my mom first. We have been through this with J before. Trust us."

Sam was raising a finger to argue with Jo as she was getting up to head back to the bar. She raised her finger back in his face, "Don't you sass me, Sam Winchester. You are in our house, so you play by our rules."

Dean looked from Jo to Sam and bust out laughing. So, this is what it was like on the outside and not on the receiving end.

Sam glowered. "Fine." He said shortly. "I'm just worried. That's all."

"Don't be. She's a pro at what she does. Just lean back and watch." As Jo said the last part she looked over at Dean and winked at him.

Oh no. That cannot be good.

"She's over there at the bar. Just keep your eyes on her if you want to help." Jo said sternly. Squinting her eyes warningly at Sam.

They both scanned the bar. Dean didn't see her. Sam apparently did.

"Woah." Was all Sam said.

"'Woah?' Woah what? I can't find her."

"How can you not see her, dude? She's at your Noon-thirty." Sam guffawed.

Dean looked back at the bar and saw who Sam was talking about. Sam was right. How _could _he have missed her. J looked nothing like they saw earlier.

It was like she wasn't even herself anymore. She was the same person, alright. But, her whole… everything was different. He couldn't help but stare, open-mouthed.

She was sitting cockeyed on a barstool, more facing the door than the bar itself. Black stiletto boots elegantly placed on the rail of the bar. Skin-tight, high-rise, what looked like, leather pants. Cropped black t-shirt revealing the bottom of what was a VERY real tattoo. And a leather biker jacket slung around the back of the barstool.

On top of the tattoo, J was also wearing a studded collar, and a chest harness under her crop top.

Dean couldn't breathe. He literally could not breathe.

It was then that she slowly looked around and immediately locked eyes with him for the first time that night.

It was only then that Dean realized that she was wearing makeup.

Not that that usually mattered, but this time was different. She carried herself completely differently tonight. Which is probably how Dean missed her at the bar the first time. She had a confidence about her that was not part of the person he remembered.

Her dramatic eye makeup was perfect. Accentuating, and if possible, making her duo-tone, sweet, gemstone eyes even that much more apparent. Center stage. The main attraction. Like real jewels. She was biting down on one of those red-red lips and Dean had to look away. He had the image burned into his mind as he looked back at Sam.

Bad idea.

"Dude! You like J!" Sam exclaimed as he threw his arms up in the air.

"I knew something was off, but I had no clue it was this! You hid it pretty well. Until just now! Jesus, Dean you should see your face." Sam looked back over at J.

"Don't look over there!" Dean hissed.

"Why not? It's not like she's looking or can hear us. Or _hear_ us." Sam said.

Dean thought for a second. He realized he was in a crowded bar, with a hundred other men, who were probably all looking at the same thing. Her.

"Of course, she couldn't hear or _hear_ us. Just. Give me a second." As much as Dean wanted to continue ogling and fantasizing like the rest of the mooks, certainly were. He needed a chance to scan the joint and he wasn't the only one taking a good long look. Or looks.

He had to reel himself in and remember this was another job and what that would mean if it went wrong.

Easy.

Once Dean was back into a hunter mind-set it was easy to look back over at the bar where J sat. She was leaning over the bar now, talking with Jo. Dean had a nice view from here, but he also saw the goo-goo eyes Jo was making at J.

Looks like Jo had been wrong. There was serious competition.

"She needs to get her head back in the game. It's dangerous to let your guard down like that. Look at how into J, Jo is right now." Dean said. More to himself than to Sam.

"Says you!" Sam countered under his breath.

Dean gave him A Look and Sam took it as a sign to just shut the hell up. It's time to work.

They both began to scan the bar more thoroughly. Seeing some familiar faces, trying to scope out any potential threat or danger.

So far, no one had given any sign and J had just continued to sit there, undisturbed, for over half an hour. Dean vaguely wondered why all these men were leaving her alone. Especially with the way she was draping herself on the bar like that. He hadn't seen anything that sexy, that sensual, in a very long time.

Dean was starting to think that this whole thing wasn't going to work in anyone's favor when the doors of The Roadhouse swung open wide. A group of men came into the bar. Three Goons and one Pretty Boy, who seemed to be the leader of this particular gang of miscreants.

They made such a ruckus, many of the other patrons stopped and watched them head towards the bar. They headed right towards where J was sitting. The ringleader of the group slid right up behind her and literally ordered over her head.

Jo was staring daggers at him as she took their orders. He wasn't even looking at her so he didn't have a chance to see her expression. Dean didn't think he would have cared anyway. He was too focused on J. Then Jo looked up and made eye contact with both Sam and Dean.

This was their guy. There was no mistaking it.

Game on.

J just turned around and faced the witch. A big old smirk on those perfectly pouty red lips. Pretty Boy sent his Goons to a table, but stayed behind and began talking with J.

As time went on, the drinks flowed. Pretty Boy and J became drunker and drunker. And more and more handsy. Dean was starting to feel uncomfortable watching when J suddenly got up, yanking the witch with her. She grabbed her coat and began playfully dragging Pretty Boy towards the back door.

He had no idea what he was doing, but Dean was up out of his chair and halfway across the bar before it even registered that he was moving. Sam was close on his tail, trying but failing, to keep him from interfering.

Since the bar was crowded, it took some time to get to the back door. When Dean emerged, J and Pretty Boy were already halfway into the parking lot. The sound of the back door slamming open, and two men running, caused them both to turn.

For a second, Dean made eye contact with J for the second time that night. For the first time, he knew that she knew exactly what he was thinking. The flash in her eyes was something that started as pure agony, turned molten steel, ending in a burning fire Dean had to look away from.

Dean then realized two things. The first thing was that they were followed out the back door by the same group of mooks this guy was Ringleader of. And the second thing was that the Pretty Boy Witch had now turned on J.

A lot happened in such a short amount of time.

First, all three Goons that were advancing on Sam, stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed the scene in front of Dean. The Pretty Boy Witch dropped to his knees in front of J.

She had a rusted-looking machete in one hand, and in one motion she decapitated him. Before his head could roll, she had bent forward, throwing three, well-aimed, throwing knives. Each one hitting one of his lackeys. The puncture wounds, and severed neck, sizzled oddly, emitting a purple smoke. Then they also dropped to the ground. Obviously dead.

Dean looked at the knives sticking out of the heart of each Goon. Seeing that the metal was swirled with what looked like rust, but most certainly wasn't. These knives were the real deal, whatever they were. They must have been treated with something. The same thing that J's machete was treated with.

Dean and Sam locked eyes for a second. He made sure, in that second, that his little brother was ok. Sam's eyes looked over Dean's shoulder at something that made his eyes go wide. Face draining of color.

Dean took another breath before he turned back to J. She was straitening from her throwing pose. Eyes flashing. The look on her face was beyond description. To say Dean didn't feel the sting of fear that he also saw in Sam's eyes would have been an outright lie.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Sam and Dean took care of the bodies exactly how J told them too.

Salt and burning were not good enough this time. They had to be soaked in something called Tar Water first. That was something neither of the boys had ever done before in all their years of hunting. It wasn't in Dad's Journal either. Quite a messy business making it. It seemed like some more hocus pocus to him, but he wasn't about to look at J, let alone ask her more about it.

Both Sam and Dean did as they were instructed. Without a word. Only Sam was brave enough to attempt some kind of an apology to J. She effectively silenced him with a wave of her hand.

"You have work to do." Was all she had to say.

* * *

The bodies were burning. Soaked in gasoline, salt, and copious amounts of Tar Water. Dean still had some wood tar on his hands that would not come off.

The flames were reaching their maximum height. There was also an odd purple smoke, in addition to the dark smoke from the fires, that made huge individual pyres in the sky. Dean was sure anyone could see them if they were within 10 miles of them if it were daylight.

As Sam, Dean, Jo, and J looked upon the pyres and pillars of smoke, J finally rounded on Dean.

"I told you to stay behind. I told you to not interfere! You made me kill three more people than I had to tonight." She spat in his face.

Dean was so shocked at J's sudden turn around on him. He said the first thing that came to his mind. "I thought you were drunk. I was trying to look out for you. Besides. Monsters are monsters, right?"

"JO WAS GIVING ME VIRGINS ALL NIGHT, ASSHOLE!" J was livid. Both Jo and Sam recoiled from both of them. Trying to evade J's wrath. "_WE_? What is this _WE_ business? Besides all of that; that is not how this works! That is not how ANY of this works! I am not the same kind of hunter as you are. It wasn't their time, and it wasn't supposed to have been me! There are rules at play here. _YOU_ screwed up, Dean."

"I told you there was a reason why I do things the way I do. You should have heeded my warnings and left me to do my job." She seethed at him now. The fury in her eyes terrified Dean. But he found himself rooted to the spot. While Jo and Sam looked on. Helpless against her.

She turned to face Sam, now. The fury was in her face unwavering. For a moment.

Dean expected her to continue in on him, too. With his inability to keep his brother under control and out of trouble.

Instead, she looked at Sam and took a deep breath. Her features softening considerably as she looked up at him. "Thanks for trying, Sam. I really should have explained this before. I didn't think I needed to. I appreciate you trying to help. I knew you were only trying to stop him. And I appreciate that. I also appreciate helping to clean up this mess that wasn't supposed to be yours."

Sam looked at her and began to try to apologize again, she raised her finger between them to indicate she wanted silence again. Sam immediately stopped and just looked at her with his big old puppy-dog sorry eyes.

Dean wondered how she managed to command people in such ways that left them with no other choice but to follow. Not like they really cared because it was what she wanted. He knew his brother, and no one stopped him from apologizing when he really wanted to. And Dean could see how much Sam wanted to by the semi-sad and somewhat aggravated look he now was giving Dean.

J looked back at the fire and continued speaking. Dean's thought was pushed out of his mind. For now, all eyes were on her now.

"I see things. I see things and the way that I see them matters. Since I only see things once, it means everything after is entirely subjective. Think Back to the Future. One small interference drastically affects a whole slew of other factors. Dean, the second you decided to do what you did, you ruined everything. You changed what I had seen. You changed the way things were going to play out. My plan wasn't going to work because the game had changed. It was only supposed to have been played one way." She paused for a moment. Not even looking at Jo or Sam. Nor caring that they were even there, it seemed.

"This is how my dad died." She said. Her voice was unwavering as she looked into Dean's extremely tortured soul. Honey covered emeralds… stone cold, yet entirely alight and on fire. "This kind of deviation can have drastic side effects."

Dean was stunned into an even heavier silence than before. His frustration with himself ever mounting. And now the feeling of guilt and failure was bitter on his tongue. He wanted to speak out in his defense. Or to spit in disgust. He wasn't sure exactly which he was capable of achieving. So, he just looked at her. Hoping she could read his mind right then.

Hoping beyond hope she could read everything he could not say.

She turned to Sam. "You are very lucky I was a sideshow in a carnival and learned a thing or three from the other performers. Those knives, and my machete, were forged with Tar Water. Those are the only weapons that could have been effectively used against these guys."

As Sam was about to respond, she turned back to Dean. The fury from moments ago slowly returning.

"You are lucky I think quick on my feet and can account for you getting in the way. The fact that I prepare myself for the biggest mistakes I can foresee happening. The fact that you are also doubly lucky that I made those blades, to begin with. Your fancy gun and monster bullets would have gotten you nowhere. If anything, it would have just pissed them off even more."

Dean was frozen. He had just barreled into a fight he had no clue how to win. What had he almost just caused? J rounded on him again. Her strength, her fury building again. Though to only a fraction of what it was before.

"I don't have enough weapons to go around, Dean. I typically work alone. Remember? I didn't think I would have needed to weaponize either of you properly. I did not think I would have to protect you. _You should know better, Dean!"_ J almost screamed at him.

"I thought you'd listen to me and stay to the sidelines as I had asked. It would have kept everyone safe. If you had just listened to me! If you had stuck with my plan everything would have been just fine! If I had not been prepared, where would we be right now?!" J leveled her gaze up at Dean as she took a few steps towards him.

She was barely a few feet away from him now. She had gotten into his face and was staring intently into it. Dean could feel her seething. It was unlike he has ever felt before. He was lost in the fire of her eyes. He was burning under the gaze of those honey-covered emeralds.

Dean's mouth fell open at what J had said. He just got served. He just had his proverbial ass handed to him on a silver plate. Dean again wondered how this person could command attention like she was doing. Saying so much, with such few words. Was this part of her abilities?

She turned away from them and stared into the flames. Fire meeting fire. An unreadable look on her face.

"I know what you're thinking, right now." She sighed.

"I can see it in your eyes, both of you. You don't need to say anything." She looked back at them. She gave Dean one last, long hard look before she turned back to the fire. He could see that the fire in her eyes was cooling. The intensity of her gaze was somehow different than any other time she had looked at him that night. Like she was trying to say something back, but he could not decipher what that something was.

J finally looked down and away.

After a few minutes of just the crackling of the fires splitting the heavy silence, Jo walked over and just stood next to J. Not saying a word. Not even looking at her. After a few minutes of even more silence, J rested her head on Jo's shoulder and Jo wrapped her arm around J.

As they all watched the fires burn to cinders, all Dean could think about was trying to figure out why he acted, and reacted, in such a way. He was usually really good at following orders. Particularly when hunting. He prided himself on that because he knows what it meant if he did not. The mistakes that could be made. Not just on this job, but on any other. Mistakes could mean someone's life. He was thankful that things had not turned out worse. How J had been insinuating.

Why did every warning J had given him beforehand fly out the window when she was leaving with that Pretty Boy? Dean felt a nasty pull in the center of his stomach at the thought of it again. A lump forming in his throat behind his Adam's Apple. He was familiar with this feeling; it was about to make everything a whole lot more complicated.

He was jealous of Mr. Pretty Boy, and afraid for J. He let his emotions take control without giving them the reigns. He wasn't thinking. He was feeling. He just acted. Dean was ashamed of himself on a level he hadn't been since he was a kid. Growing up looking after Sammy while Dad was out on hunts. Every time he stepped out of line John made him feel exactly like this for not following his direct orders and putting his brother and himself in danger. How was it that this woman, that he hadn't even known for 72 hours, was capable of bringing up these same complex emotions in him?

Dean thought it would be best to avoid that string of thought for now.

* * *

When the bodies were finally done burning a short while later, they headed back to The Roadhouse. This time J grabbed the bottle of whiskey and two glasses as she filled Ellen in on what exactly had happened. Since they had all ditched her to take care of the bar by herself hours earlier. Needless to say, Ellen needed all the details.

"I cannot believe you, boys! I know you meant good, but meaning good doesn't get you anywhere on a hunt and you know that!" Ellen scolded.

"I know Ellen. I was just trying to stop my idiot brother." Sam snapped as he glanced over at Dean. The look on his face made it obvious he was done dealing with a mistake that was not his.

"It was on me, Ellen. I acted out of instinct and caused this whole mess. Don't drag Sam into it. I already did. Leave him alone, please." Dean said as he rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. Trying to force the thoughts of which of his instincts actually drove his actions away from the forefront of his mind.

"I should have known better. I do not know what came over me." Dean concluded. That wasn't entirely true, but for the most part, it was.

"I'm just glad everyone is back here safe and the job is done." Ellen sighed as she reached behind the bar for another beer.

Jo and J had retreated to the back corner with the bottle of whiskey and glasses as soon as J was done retelling the events of the night since everyone up and left Ellen back at The Roadhouse.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

By now it was almost closing time, only a few drunk stragglers up at the bar. Ellen rounded them up and told them to hit the road. She called Jo over to help her close down the bar.

Jo came over to help and Dean couldn't help but notice that she kept giggling under her breath, and she was definitely blushing. Was she drunk already? He looked over to the table where J was still sitting. He couldn't see her face, but he did see a good portion of the bottle of whiskey was gone.

As Jo wiped the tables down and put the stools up for the night, Ellen cleaned the bar, took the trash out back, and turned all the neon signs off.

As Jo was finishing up the dishes J finally said something. Though it was not anything Dean recognized as anything but nonsense.

"Ra ra ra, ah ah, ro ma, ro ma ma." She sang to herself.

"Gaga ooh la la!" Jo sang back over the bar.

"Want your bad romance!" J and Jo sang at each other.

Sam started laughing. Dean was still left confused. What the hell just happened? Dean felt this question was being asked more and more recently.

Sam looked at him, laughing even harder at his brother's innocence and ignorance.

"Dude, It's Lady Gaga. You know, like Poker Face. '_Muh muh muh muh_'?" Sam semi-sang at him.

Both Jo and J turned to laugh. J had an ear-splitting grin on her face. Head tossed back in laughter at Sam's addition to their song. Dean could see that she was pretty tipsy. She wasn't drunk, but that bottle would suggest differently. Even considering that both her and Jo had been drinking from it. Then again Dean didn't know if she could hold her liquor or not like he knew Jo could. It would at least explain the change in mood. And the sudden singing of random sounds.

As J was looking over at Jo doing her rounds around the table, Dean was able to get a look at her. She didn't seem to hold any of the anger and ferociousness that she embodied a few hours earlier. She seemed completely at ease, watching Jo work. Whenever Jo bent over J pulled her bottom lip back between her teeth.

The image of the three of them flashed into Dean's mind. For a second, it was the only thing he saw in his mind's eye. J's head turned towards Dean at the exact same time. What came next completely baffled Dean.

J got up from her place in the corner and walked smoothly over to Jo. Okay, so she wasn't drunk. She was graceful in her movements. Far away from being called 'sloppy.' She was still under the influence enough for there to be a slight pink tone to her cheeks that had not been there before.

She leaned in and whispered into Jo's ear. And Jo giggled. Like a schoolgirl. Dean had never heard such a girly laugh come from Jo before. That was not a bad thing at all, he just thought it was extremely cute. The smile elicited from J was almost as sinful as the smile she gave him in his dream.

Jo then walked over to Ellen and said, "J and I are going to hang back for some awkward karaoke. Is it ok if we meet you back at the house? I'll make sure to lock up." Jo jingled her keys, smiling widely.

Ellen looked at Sam and Dean, "Only if the boys stay with you to make sure you guys get back home safe. I won't bother waiting up. Just make sure to not slam the door this time."

Sam raised his hand slightly while saying, "Sure. I only had one beer. I won't drink anymore and be everyone's DD. I'll make sure everyone gets home safe." He winked and laughed. "I'm also interested in what their version of 'awkward karaoke' is."

Ellen laughed, "I think you boys will find it amusing, to say the least. I always have a blast just watching them. Enjoy the show." Dean would later look back on this, if only Ellen had known what she was saying.

With that, she picked up her bag and keys, and left out the back door, locking it behind herself.

As Jo finished her round of duties, J walked over to the karaoke machine and started fiddling with it. Instead of grabbing the book of songs available to play, she plugged her own phone in.

She grabbed two mics and checked that they both worked before setting one down and hitting play on her phone.

The first notes of Bad Romance started playing. And J pulled a chair up on the small stage and started singing. She wasn't singing alone like in normal karaoke, but along with the real track of the song. J could have easily been a backup singer that was actually recorded into the track of the song. At least that's what Dean thought at first until she started doing what appeared to be the choreography that went along with the song.

Then he heard her voice without the mic. Was Jo sure she tested J for everything? This was a popular, catchy radio song that shouldn't sound this good. Or look that good.

"Yes, she tested me for everything, Dean." J said right into the mic as he finished thinking about all the different ways, different ways she needed to be tested to be sure she was human. J was dancing a little more loosely now. She was getting more used to being on the small stage with a mic in hand.

Dean flushed as Jo ran up and grabbed the other mic, easily settling into the rhythm of the song and the dance moves.

"Walk, walk, fashion, baby. Work it, move that bitch crazy. Walk, walk, fashion, baby. Work it, move that bitch crazy. Walk, walk, fashion, baby. Work it, move that bitch crazy. Walk, walk, passion, baby. Work it, I'm a free bitch, baby!" they both sang together.

Dean already knew Jo wasn't a bad singer either. So, this was becoming quite a show when the song drew to a close.

J sang the French parts perfectly, and she was singing them to Jo who had stopped singing to listen to J. Her bottom lip between her teeth.

They ended the song together. Jo just slightly off-key.

"I GET TO PICK THIS TIME!" Jo said as she grabbed J's phone and started scrolling.

"We're gonna stick to Gaga for now. Give me an album." Jo looked up from the phone and over to J. Waiting for her response.

"Aww, can't I pick my own song?" J said, in an overly pouty way.

"NO! I get to pick which song. Just give me an album to choose from! Come on you usually love doing this." Jo pouted right back.

"We usually do not have an audience, Jo." J gestured to Sam and Dean.

"Hey, forget we are here. I could always embarrass myself with my own karaoke skills, but I think Dean would agree you guys are way better and way more entertaining than I am." Sam said with half a laugh.

"Yeah, I hear Sammy too much in the shower as it is. This is a refreshing change." Dean responded. Refreshing and more than entertaining. Dean was curious about what Jo was up to. She kept looking over at him. Like to gauge his reactions or something.

"Artpop." J concluded.

Jo giggled. "MANiCURE."

***Author's Note: Please listen to MANiCURE by Lady Gaga, before continuing with this chapter***

"REALLY!? We just started I need to warm up for that one." J whined.

"No, you don't. I could have picked Swine…Don't make me change my mind, Miss Juliet. Just sing it, bitch."

J's eye quickly widened and then narrowed at the name, and the name of the other song, she quickly recovered and rolled her eyes. And then the song started. Dean quickly took a mental note to look up what Jo was talking about at some point.

And J must have been short for Juliet.

There was literally a single beat of the song before J started singing. J was a power singer, alright. It was plain she did not need to warm up. And this was a perfect song for her. Even though Dean had never heard it before. It was rough around the edges.

"Put some lipstick on, perfume your neck and slip your high heels on. Rinse and curl your hair. Loosen your hips and get a dress to wear. I'm the one who's been comin' 'round lookin' lovin' you. You're the medicine I need to heal the way you make me feel!"

To say J looked, and sounded like a Rockstar was not an understatement. Her outfit still looked the same as it did when Dean first saw her at the bar earlier that night. Not even her red-red lipstick was smudged. She looked absolutely flawless. Even after a messy job and clean up. Dean was surprised he was only now noticing.

J sang. And she sang those notes perfectly, almost eclipsing the track with the intensity of her vocals. She was singing it just as good, if not better, than the studio version playing behind her. Dean was grateful there was a track to compare her to because this could have been J's song and Dean would never have known it. Once again, commanding the attention. Even as she sang the first chorus her eyes closed as she belted out the lyrics. Obviously getting into one hell of a groove.

Jo was standing right next to her, ebbing and flowing with J's movements as she sang out the opening. She began singing with her throughout the chorus. J continued to belt out the song while moving those hips in a hypnotizing rhythm. Leaning into the song at points.

Jo leaned back into J as they both sang. J leaned in behind her, reaching around and running her finger down Jo's chest and across her stomach to her hip. Where her hand had a firm hold, guiding Jo to the rhythm of J's own hips. They were certainly putting on a show. Both girls singing their hearts out, dancing to the beat like this was a choreographed performance.

From the first word, J was completely all-in singing. Heart and soul. For everything she was worth. The hand not holding the mic roaming over her own chest, neck, and upper body as shy gyrated with the beat of the song.

She rolled her hips with the lyrics as she sang them into the mic. Almost as if the words were literally wrapping around her as they flowed from her mouth. The energy exuding from J right now was that of a sexy, confident, strong, and commanding female vocal lead. She had transformed herself, again. Right there in that bar, she _was_ a Rockstar.

Dean was transfixed. This was not your average 'awkward' karaoke night and Dean began wondering if this was Jo's idea for a reason. What was she playing at? What were they playing at?!

J stopped dancing to sing the next portion of the song. As she leaned over the mic, letting the lyrics flow from her mouth, she made eye contact with Dean. It was pure fire.

Not the kind he had seen before, that was fury. This time it was a smoldering fire behind those honey emerald eyes. This fire had a purpose. This next part was for him.

Jo continued to rock out next to her as J stood there with her eyes on Dean. Focusing everything she had into her voice. Into hitting each note with a passion that Dean thought was worthy of a stadium. Not this little karaoke party.

"Touch me in the dark! Put your hands all over my body parts. Throw me on the bed. Squeeze, tease me, please me, that's what I said! 'Cause I'm the, trick who's been comin' 'round lookin' lovin' you. You're the, the medicine. I need to heal the way, the way, the way you make me feel!"

As J sang out the last note, Jo started in again with the chorus.

They were back to singing and dancing, grinding, and gyrating together.

J looked directly at Jo and sang, "Heal me, cause I'm addicted to love. Save me, cause I'm addicted to love." As her hand, that was not holding the mic, grabbed Jo's waist and pulled her closer. Their hips were touching now as they both sang, foreheads together.

A very intimate moment that did not go unnoticed by either brother.

They continued like that the rest of the song, dancing with the beat as it wound down. As the song came to a close, they were dancing a lot closer than Dean or Sam thought was just friendly goofing around. They had looked at each other and agreed silently.

When the song stopped, Sam started clapping. He actually started clapping. Oh my god, can he just not do that?

"Where the hell did you learn to sing like that? I thought Jo was amazing at karaoke. You put her to shame." Sam asked. His face open, happy, and surprised.

"Hey! Fuck you, Sam Winchester." Jo said in a growl into the mic.

"You don't learn to sing like that. I think you would agree that if _you_ could learn to sing like that, Dean would be able to tolerate your shower singing a little bit more." J said sarcastically.

Now it was Dean's turn to laugh. "She has a point there, little bro! If you could learn, you would have at least tried to learn already. You're such a nerd!"

Sam gave Dean another Bitchface. Dean returning it with a mocking smile.

"Fine. Can I pick the next song for you guys?" Sam asked. A hint of playfulness in his voice that only Dean picked up on. Looks like Sammy Boy was about to try and throw J for a loop after that last comment.

"Sure." She grabbed her phone and motioned him up from the bar.

"This whole list, and I mean the _whole_ playlist, is all songs I can sing. Jo may or may not be able to. Feel free to take a moment to pick your song. I know there is a lot there."

Ten minutes later Sam showed J her phone and she looked at him with a look of regret on her face.

The smile on Sam's face was one of triumph. Dean only saw resolution on J's face now. Maybe Sam had picked a song she knew she couldn't sing.

Dean could not help himself. "What song did you pick, Sammy?"

"Do you remember that movie we watched with Cher and Christina Aguilera a few years back?"

Dean flushed and scowled at him.

"The one I_ made_ you watch?" Sam corrected.

He did remember. He remembered because he actually really liked that movie. But he would never admit to it. No chick flicks.

"It's from that soundtrack." Sam answered without waiting for Dean's reply.

"I have only one condition. No mic." J suddenly interjected.

Sam looked perplexed but agreed.

***Author's Note: Please listen to Bound to You by Christina Aguilera (from the Burlesque Movie Original Soundtrack), before continuing with this chapter***

J took another deep breath, "Alright. Whenever you're ready."

Jo sat back in another chair. Knowing full well what song was going to play. And whether or not J really could sing it or not. Dean was just about to find out for himself.

The opening notes sounded and immediately Dean knew this was his favorite song of the whole movie. The ballad. Bound to You.

No wonder J seemed slightly upset, and Sam triumphant, this was the hardest and most complex song of the whole movie. Even for Aguilera who had some major pipes on her.

J sat in a chair backward. Wrapping her arms around the back of it. She took a deep breath and started singing. With no mic to amplify her voice, it was hard to hear her at first because of the real track playing at the same volume.

As the song began to build Dean now understood why she didn't want the mic. She did not need it. It would have just been a silly distraction. Soon she was singing on par with Christina, note for note. Just as loud as the voice recorded on the track.

As she sang, she would lean back and forth with the pure ability of projection of her vocals, her face screwed up at times in the effort. The complex notes and transitions didn't seem to slow her down. It seemed they only made J more resolute in putting even more into this song than she had the previous as the song went on.

J could have easily been transplanted into the movie, into the soundtrack, wearing that green dress. She let the song move her. She let her voice ebb and flow with the music she was singing to. This time, she never opened her eyes. Not even once. Obviously concentrating her whole being on this one thing.

As the notes became higher and the vocals became harder and harder to sing, the louder and more confident J became in her voice.

By the last vibrato note of the song, Dean was glad to see a look of utter shock and bewilderment on Sam's face. He was glad his face didn't show, though he felt, the exact same feelings.

Dean had watched that movie more than a few times just for the soundtrack. J not only knocked her performance out of the park, but she also destroyed the original. He didn't think he could ever watch that movie again without hearing J instead of Christina.

Now he wondered if she could sing the rest of the songs. Out of pure curiosity of course…

Jo started clapping animatedly as J dramatically fell to the floor. "Are you happy now, you big goofy giant. I can sing! _THER_E_! _HA!" She threw her arms into the air in front of her as she was splayed on her back. Catching her breath from the effort of the song.

"Okay, okay now that she's proven herself it's my turn!" Jo exclaimed. Getting up from her chair, reaching for J's phone.

"Color me impressed," Sam said in awe. "I honestly thought I had you with that one. I can only imagine how hard that must have been to pull off. I don't even think I heard you crack once!"

"I did a few times. One reason why I like singing _WITH_ the original song, not over it. Easier to harmonize and your mistakes get a nice little filter. X-tina and her throat exercises. I swear they will kill me one day. It's those two notes near the end that I always have issues with. Deep breaths are the key. Hashtag: Weird Flex."

"Throat exercises? Sounds kinky." Dean said, completely out of reflex. Immediately regretting his outburst.

From the floor, J looked over at him and winked, "It can be."

"I found it! Sam! Help me!" Jo exclaimed as she showed her choice to Sam, shoving a mic into his hand.

"Count me in!"

The next few minutes were filled with Sam and Jo singing A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton. In a very White Chicks-esque way. Where was Terry Crews when you needed him?

Dean and J were pretending to be dying a most slow and painful death from such terrible singing, while actually dying of laughter.

When Sam and Jo finished the song, J addressed the other three, "It's getting late guys. It's been a long day. For me, and probably the rest of you, too. Let's wrap this up and had back. The whiskey is starting to wear off and I don't want to remember why I was upset.

Dean cringed at the words. He did not like the thought of J still being upset. At him. He didn't want her to be upset, period. Particularly not with him. He glowered inwardly to himself. 'Oh, great.' He thought to himself. 'Another one bites the dust. I'll never have any kind of a chance.'

Jo looked at J and asked "One more? Your choice? I want to hear what YOU want to sing, now. And sing it good. Something I haven't heard yet. Please."

J looked at Jo with a lazy crooked smile on her face for a moment. "Of course, I'm going to say 'Yes' with those big blue eyes asking me."

Jo was still very much drunk and Dean could tell J very much wanted to keep that smile on her face. Even if it seemed as if she really didn't feel like smiling much herself anymore at the moment.

J could feel bright green eyes on her the entire time as she went back to her phone to pick one last song.

"I know just the one, Joanna Beth. I've had this one on repeat for a while now. Though I would not normally pick this. It feels fitting." J said as she grabbed the mic and pressed play.

***Author's Note: Please listen to Walk Me Home by Pink, before continuing with this chapter***

A bass steady drumbeat filled the air and she was off, once again. J began singing in a deeper, more soulful voice. Very unlike the song they had just heard her sing only minutes earlier.

"There's something in the way you roll your eyes. Takes me back to a better time. When I saw everything is good. But now you're the only thing that's good. Tryna stand up on my own two feet. This conversation ain't comin' easily. And darling, I know it's getting late. So what do you say we leave this place?"

Dean could feel the emotion behind the words as J sang them. Wow. He was blown away, entirely. Again. They were real. This was real. There is no way the pain behind that extraordinary voice was not real. How could she sing someone else's song with so much personal investment?

"Walk me home in the dead of night! I can't be alone with all that's on my mind, mhm. So say you'll stay with me tonight. 'Cause there is so much wrong going on outside."

J looked up and caught Dean's eye. He felt like she was singing to him. Like the next words were meant for him, even if she had not written this song. The pleading in her voice and in her eyes was apparent.

"There's something in the way I wanna cry. That makes me think we'll make it out alive. So come on and show me how we're good. I think that we could do some good, mhm. Walk me home in the dead of night! I can't be alone with all that's on my mind, mhm. So say you'll stay with me tonight. 'Cause there is so much wrong going on outside."

She closed her eyes and leaned into the mic.

"Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh. Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh."

One more time, heavy with so much emotion, Dean thought she may actually start crying, J continued in an almost normal voice,

"Walk me home in the dead of night. 'Cause I can't be alone with all that's on my mind. Say you'll stay with me tonight. 'Cause there is so much wrong going on…"

Her voice came back, full force, her eyes opened and were back on Dean.

"Walk me home in the dead of night! I can't be alone with all that's on my mind. So say you'll stay with me tonight. 'Cause there is so much wrong! There is so much wrong! There is so much wrong going on outside"

J ended the song and looked to the floor as she paused the music from continuing, and disconnected her phone. Jo looked at her with tears in her eyes.

"I thought Pink sang that with emotion. Goddamn. She's got nothing on you, girl."

"I don't sing this way for no reason, sweetheart. You know that." J responded as she pulled Jo into a hug, kissing her on the cheek.

Dean was ready for a shower. Looking at the two women sweetly embraced sent more images into his head that he had to sweep away. That he had to protect so he could protect himself.

He needed to process a lot of things. Most of which he couldn't even think of right now due to the present company. This last song was very heavy with meaning and feelings, and Dean would have to have been a dunce to ignore that.

Particularly with the way J had been looking at him. Singing to him, not just the way she had looked at him during the first song. Those eyes calling to him. Also singing their own song he could not help but be drawn to. A siren's song. And it seemed this was Dean's perfect brand of siren song.

Things were getting very complicated and Dean had had no time to think about any of it. Any time he did have a thought about J that night, she had always found his eyes and held them with hers. Trying to communicate something that Dean just could not put his finger on. And it certainly was not the fury and anger he had seen and felt from her, directly towards him, like earlier. This was totally and utterly different in every way.

He had no clue how much she knew, but Dean was certain she knew way more than he did about the current situation he had now found himself in.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Sam easily pulled Baby into a parking spot outside their motel room after dropping off J and Jo back at Ellen's. Dean didn't even want to worry about having to drive tonight, his mind was so weighed down with information. Sam even gave him a weird look when he tossed him the keys when they left The Roadhouse. It wasn't every day Dean road shotgun.

As they walked in the door of their room, Sam turned on Dean.

"You know it's ok to like her, right, Dean?"

"What? Who are you talking about?" Dean shot back, almost defensively.

"Dude, you did not see your face at The Roadhouse tonight. The look on your face whenever you looked at J. She was obviously singing to you on that last song. You'd have to be blind to miss that one. And it shows. I can see it on your face. Right now!"

"Sammy, I just got a lot on my mind. A lot has happened tonight. I just want to hit the hay."

Sam made a bitchface. "Ok, I'll take the first shower then so you can brood in there as long as you want. I won't have to worry about you taking up all the hot water while you 'process things'."

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

* * *

The hot water cascaded down Deans stiff and rigid muscles. He had not realized how wound up he had gotten. His shoulders were up to his ears with tension. His jaw hurt from clenching it for so long. Exactly how long that has been going on, Dean had no idea. It seemed as if he had been tensing every muscle, and had been carrying himself as such for most of the day. As he tried to relax the best he could, he also relaxed his mind. Letting it run freely over every bit of that day.

The job gone wrong and the 'awkward karaoke' afterward. The fact that Jo had told him his dream was not just of his subconscious. That it was also the product of its subject; J.

How could she have any kind of control over his dreams? Isn't that the safest place from someone like her? A psychic like her? Someone who could read minds? Or did it just make it easier for her to do her psychic thang? Was he vulnerable in his sleep?

Then came the memories of running out the backdoor of The Roadhouse and seeing the look in J's eyes. Knowing instantly he had just royally fucked up. He was going to have to apologize for that. There was no excuse for his actions. For putting everyone in danger like that.

The image of J and that Pretty Boy inside the bar still tore at Dean's navel with a burning fire that licked the inside of his being. Right up his throat. He had to swallow to keep it at bay. One thing was certain. He did _NOT_ like seeing her on the arm of another man. He did not like watching her hands all over another man. He had to be truthful, even if it was only to himself.

Seeing her with Jo was different. Because it was Jo. He knew Jo. Jo was Jo. And because Dean had to admit, he had always had a thing for her. It was just something neither of them talked about. So, the idea of those two was very hot and something he could focus on for quite a long while. As he came to find out exactly how long, the water started to run cold. The briskness of the suddenly cold water brought him back to his senses.

He finished up and turned off the now freezing cold water and just stood there dripping for a second. Still lost in thought. A shiver ran down his spine that had nothing to do with the temperature of the water or the fact that he was still sopping wet.

As he stepped out of the shower and toweled himself off, he mentally took stock of what he was sure of. What was Dean absolutely sure of? He was sure he was attracted to J, and to some extent, she had been attracted to him, too. At least before he pulled his little stunt earlier. He was hoping she would forgive him for his blatant mistake and understand that he wasn't actually thinking when it happened. Like that was any kind of good enough excuse. She deserved better. He thought bitterly to himself. Self-loathing and Dean Winchester were synonymous.

He knew, for sure. that Jo and J had something going on, but Jo had still silently given her consent when it came to the idea of Dean and J. She had even told him that J liked him back to a certain extent. If that was even true, or if that was just a wild guess.

Dean was sure that his mind was usually safe, but not as much as J let on. She claimed she felt it was an invasion of someone's privacy, _but_ she had also proved that she was listening to him and had made that apparent. She was at least listening to him more than to anyone else. Sam and Jo included. 'Her eyes could tell you that much.' He thought to himself.

Dean could barely think anymore when he emerged from the bathroom. The only light was from the small TV that Sam had left on for Dean so he wouldn't be tripping over anything trying to get to bed. Sam was fast asleep, snoring softly under the covers of his own bed. Feet sticking off a few inches. Dean thought, again, how grateful he was that J was such an accurate knife thrower. He would have to ask her more about that. Eventually. And also, to remember to be more grateful to be considered the 'short' brother.

As Dean climbed into his own bed, he wondered to himself if he would have a dreamless sleep tonight. Or if he would dream again. If he would dream like normal, or if he would be visited again.

As he drifted off into the obliviousness of sleep, he thought he could hear J softly singing "walk me home in the dead of night" into his ear. "I can't be alone with all that's on my mind."

He mumbled the last words to himself, barely still clinging to consciousness. "So, say you'll stay with me tonight…"

* * *

Dean was back at The Roadhouse. He was ponied up to the bar waiting for Jo to grab him some more beer from the back.

"What's taking that girl so long? Did she get lost?" he said to himself under his breath.

Suddenly he wasn't alone at the bar.

"Hey there, Dean. How are your dreams tonight?"

He looked over and saw J, just as dolled and dressed up as when he had last seen her. She was sitting next to him, leaning up against the bar, with her head turned toward him. Her face was tilted up to look into his.

"Jo isn't coming back with my beer, is she?" Dean asked. Although he had already guessed what the answer would be.

"No. She's not coming back. But, this is your dream. I just set the stage, so you COULD just get yourself your own beer at any time." J replied.

Huh. Dean had not thought of that. If this is his dream, he had control over everything, right? When he looked back down there was a frosty bottle of freshly-opened beer where his empty one had been a split second before.

"Well, that's pretty cool," Dean said, more to himself than anything.

"And you are probably already aware that I am not, in fact, part of your imagination. I believe Jo told you something earlier to that effect. Enough for you to know that this is real. At least that I am real. To be honest, I was hoping both of you would have kept it more to yourselves. That she should have kept what she knew to herself. Merely to give me more time to let you figure it out on your own."

Dean scoffed at that last part and side-eyed J. "Define 'This is real.' If this is real, then how am I able to manipulate everything? Magic myself my own beer?" Dean questioned, completely ignoring the latter part of her statement. But also, genuinely wondering where the line was drawn. Until just now, he didn't even know there was a line of reality and imagination in his own dreams.

"Great question. Even Jo never asked me that one."

J sighed and looked up towards bottles that lines the top shelf of the bar.

"I am psychic, as you already know. You know how my mind reading works. This is along the same lines. Only I'm magnifying your own latent psychic abilities to flex mine. To project my own picture. We are more open to outside influence in our dreaming state. I'm Dream Walking. At least that is what it's called. We are both very much asleep in our own beds. I just got up in my head and came over to see what's going on in yours. This is very much your personal reality that you can manipulate at any time. I am just a visitor here. Well, an intruder really. A psychic projection. If you wanted to, you could kick me out entirely now that you are aware that you can."

"My reality, huh? Then can I do something like… this?" Dean looked down at her leather pants and saw that they had been replaced with a short pencil leather skirt. Complete with fishnet stockings and a spiked thigh harness to match her collar.

"Good one. Nice mental flex. Now, please don't do that again unless you want me to go back to my own head. I came here to talk to you."

"If you stay wearing that, I'll keep listening." Dean teased. Totally joking around, but completely serious at the same time. "Can you read my thoughts in here?" He continued, asking slightly apprehensively.

"Another great question. You are surprising me, Dean Winchester." J looked down at her skirt that was a pair of pants a minute ago. "No, I cannot. Unless, you pull a weird mental flex like the one you just did, or when I saw the choker/harness pairing the last time I was here. I just did my best at guessing. I am usually right, either way. My intuition is a little more finely tuned than most people's. So, anything you think in here, right now, is completely your own. Technically, I'm already in your head. I cannot go any deeper than this. You hold the power here. Just don't flex."

Dean felt relieved that they were now on a semi-level playing field. Don't flex?

Dean needed to know what this mental flexing thing was. It seemed semi-important. Right now, there was something else that was even more important and needed addressing.

"What did you come here to talk to me about?" Dean got straight to the point. He desperately wanted to know why she was here. Looking like that. Now that he knew it was her choice to be here.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier tonight. With the witch, and his goons, and your brother."

Dean's stomach fell. He was expecting this, but was not prepared for what came next.

"I am sorry for the way I spoke with you earlier. I treated you like a child. I didn't let you know why it was so important to follow my directions, just that you had to. Then when a mistake was made, I didn't give you the chance to speak for yourself before I completely tore you down. I came here to say I am sorry, but I hope you understand where it all came from. I'm not used to having to explain myself and my ways to other people; because other people just don't listen. And it gets personal. When it comes to the things I can do and the things I can see, sometimes hunters look at me weird. Like maybe I should be the one hunted. Not the one hunting. Another reason why I work alone."

Dean was so surprised he was still staring at the side of her face, now steadily getting redder, while he processed everything she had just said.

He finally spoke. But his voice was nowhere near as strong as he wished it was. It came out more like a whisper. Like her was admitting to something he would normally never admit to.

"It's ok. I deserved the tongue lashing you gave me. God knows my dad has laid into me far worse and for far less than you did today. I deserved every word of it. You were right. It was foolish of me to do what I did. Considering you had already warned me not to interfere in any way. I acted without thinking and that had consequences. I am very thankful and grateful for your quick thinking. I want to thank you for saving Sammy after I put him in danger. As a big brother, that is something I will never get over as long as I live. As old as we get. I feel responsible for him and he could have gotten seriously hurt tonight, because of my careless actions. So, basically, I'm saying thank you for saving me and my brother. And thank you for putting me in my place."

"You are something else entirely, Dean. Every chance you get, you throw me for a fucking loop. That's twice now." J finally looked at him.

There was something behind those amazing eyes again. This time he had the choice to keep what he thought he saw to himself or to ask. But before he had a chance to formulate any questions, she beat him to the punch.

"Tell me what you were thinking." She asked quietly. Staring into his eyes. A hungry look in hers. An almost deprived look.

"Honey-covered emeralds," Dean mumbled, without thinking.

"Excuse me?" J tilted her head to the side slightly again. A quizzical look on her face.

"Your eyes." Dean clarified. Embarrassed that he couldn't even keep that little bit to himself; in his own dreams. "Your eyes remind me of honey-covered emeralds."

J's face split into the biggest smile he had seen from her yet. "So that's why you're always staring into my soul whenever I catch your eye!? It's just been my freaky eyes this whole time? I was thinking way too much into it." She said, suddenly lighthearted.

"I thought you had an issue with me… Like I'm something to be hunted." she said just as suddenly. All laughter gone, replaced with a very serious expression.

"Well, I do have an issue with you. But that relies on the fact that I still don't think you are 100% human. There is no way you can be as smoking hot as you are, have the set of lungs you have, the abilities you have, with the trained skills you have, on top of having the most insanely pretty eyes I've ever seen. I'm still in need of some convincing." Dean said rather nonchalantly.

J's face fell into one of shocked horror at what Dean said.

He jumped up out of his chair to put his hand on her cheek this time. She was real. She was _REALLY_ real. He tilted her head up.

"Look at me, J." J kept looking down. Avoiding any eye contact with him. She seemed like she had thrown a wall up between them all of a sudden. Dean would come to find out later that it was for good reason.

When she finally met his eyes again, he spoke.

"I do not think you are anything that needs to be hunted." He said firmly.

"I think you are something I might actually be entirely interested in. I just haven't been thinking about it since I was afraid of what you would be able to 'hear'. I know I certainly wasn't thinking about it when I went after you and that witch. I wasn't thinking at all at that point. I just acted. Acted on instinct to keep you safe. My interest was in another area completely. And for that I am sorry. I should not have let my interests overpower my judgment." Now it was Dean's turn to drop his gaze, and his hand, from her face.

"I have been the distraction this whole time, haven't I?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, and Jo likes to make it worse because she likes you and she thinks that I like you, too. Well, she's not entirely wrong. Sammy didn't pick that song because it was hard. He picked it because it was hard AND also happens to be one of my favorite songs from any movie soundtrack, like ever. I don't think he even knows exactly what he was doing to me when he had you sing that. Holy shit. By the way."

Now he felt both of her hands on either side of his face. When he looked up, he was met with soft lips. Immediately his eyes fluttered shut and he leaned into the sudden heat, harder as his hands found their way to her face and neck. She deepened the kiss and his hand wove through her hair at the base of her neck. The other hand sliding down her spine, forcing her body into his. He felt her hands reach up and her fingers rake through his own hair roughly.

J's tiny leather skirt had ridden up to reveal red lace. Dean's other hand was firmly grasping one side of that amazing ass. He lifted his hand and brought it down sharply. Making her whole ass wiggle under his hand.

J inhaled sharply, pulling her face away from Dean's, at the stinging contact. Then the slow transformation that was stinging pain to the dull ache of a nice and neat handprint.

She pulled his face away from hers. Only by an inch more, and said "Now this is where I draw my line at Dream Walking and Talking. No Dream Making out or anything like that. I will only partake in reality. She hummed softly. Starting to pull away.

He felt her breath against his lips, she was still so close. He managed to steal a peck before saying, "I thought you said this was real." While feeling the skin beginning to burn hot, and raise under his hand from his strike of it. Dean felt proud of himself.

"Tsk tsk tsk. This is in your head, what makes you think it's not real? I mean we both need to be awake for this. We both need to be outside of our heads. I promise to not read your mind. As long as you're not screaming at me in it. But you need to promise to make the move I made here. I know you're afraid of what Jo will think. But if she already clued you in on my Dream Walking, and initiated tonight's karaoke party, I think she is silently screaming at you to do what she did.

"And what, pray tell, did Jo do?" Dean asked, his voice husky from the absolutely filthy thoughts running through his mind. Ones that were completely safe from J no matter how loud he thought them.

J leaned in and whispered into Dean's ear. "She went for me. Instead of just staring and allowing me to Dream Walk, she came after me in the 'real world' too."

J nipped at his earlobe before continuing, breathing heavily into his ear. She got the shivers she wanted out of Dean almost immediately. "I have learned most people will do just about anything in dreams, but never follow through when1 it comes down to brass tax. This is an open invitation."

She pulled away while running her hands under his shirt, over his chest.

"I would like to continue with this." She said innocently as she dug her nails sharply into his skin. Making Dean's breath catch in his throat. Oh, she was such a tease!

She leaned in, pressed her whole body into his while capturing his lips one last time, for just a hot second. A hot, and passionate, second. Before she pulled away completely. Before he had the chance to put his hands up around her. Just as fast as she came, she was gone.

Dean sighed and looked around when he knew he was alone in his head again.

It was rather lonely now. And peculiarly cold. He wished she would come back. Even if it wasn't in the same way she had left. He wanted her there. And he was determined to tell her so, face to face, person to person… Sometime in the very near future…

* * *

Dean awoke with a start. He sat up, still feeling where J had dug her nails into his chest. He could feel it still, but it was fading fast. Like the memory of a fleeting dream. He was still entirely apprehensive about this being real, even though it was all in his head.

He sat in the dark and the silence for a few moments before turning over to try and go back to sleep. Could he even go back to sleep after what he had just dreamt of? After what had just happened? He was so amped up in so many different ways.

He needed to come clean to Sam, not about everything of course when he woke up. Dean would keep most of his dream to himself. There were a few points that were just too much for him to wrap his head around. He needed some help. No matter how embarrassing it might be.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The next morning Dean woke up before Sam. For a change, he was the one who went and got breakfast and coffee. Waking Sam up upon his return.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty! We got some shit to talk about. You're gonna need this." Dean handed the bleary-eyed Sam a cup of coffee as he sat up.

"How are you up before me?" Sam asked as he sipped at his coffee.

"Because J came to visit, again, last night. And we need to talk about mental flexing and what the hell that even means."

"And you didn't wake me up _WHY_!?" Asked Sam pointedly.

"Wait. Again? How was she here and I never noticed? Twice? Mental _flexing_?"

Sam looked so lost so confused at everything Dean had just said. Dean sighed and gestured to the coffee in his hand. "I told you, you were going to need that."

It took Dean over an hour and a half to fill Sam in on everything he had missed out on in the last few days. The questions alone lasted for over 20 minutes.

Everything from J showing up in his dreams and apologizing to him, with absolutely none of the gory details, to what Jo had said about them being 'best friends with benefits'. Also, J's ability to Dream Walk.

"No wonder you've been so distracted. I was thinking it was because you knew there was something between Jo and J. And you obviously like both of them. I was under the impression that you did not know how to handle it." Dean scoffed that the last comment before Sam continued, almost without pause.

"This is a whole new level of something I had never even thought of before. Oh, man. I really need to talk to J about this. If she can do this, maybe others can do it, too. She said something about you 'mental flexing'? I agree the to need to know more about that. Maybe it's an avenue we need to study, in case we come across someone with ill intentions with the same ability. There has to be some kind of protection against it. And we already know there are people like that out there. So, why not learn from one of them?" Sam said, more and more to himself than to Dean.

"You've been policing your thoughts that much?" Sam chuckled, looking up from his coffee. "So, go get her, dude. Why are you still here telling me all this? Go on down to The Roadhouse and talk to her."

Dean paused. He wasn't sure if he could face her.

Dean walked into The Roadhouse. He scanned the room and was surprised and relieved to see the J was not there. It was just Jo behind the bar.

"Hey, Dean. Where's Sam?" Jo asked reflexively.

"He decided to stay back at the motel and chase a couple of leads while I take care of some unfinished business."

"Unfinished business? What are you talking about, Winchester?"

"J."

"What about J?"

"She is my unfinished business. I don't like unfinished business."

Jo's eyes grew wide with understanding. "Oh."

Dean looked away from the now analytical look he was receiving from the blonde behind the bar.

"Since you're being so open now for some reason, may I ask what this unfinished business is, exactly?"

Dean chuckled. He wasn't that easy to crack.

"You already know she can Dream Walk. Like I'm going to start going around talking about my dreams. That's actually more information than you need to know about my business." He teased, but still completely serious.

Jo acted affronted.

"Well, I hope you know, good sir. That I have information of my own that YOU might be interested in. I wouldn't go walling up so quickly if I were you." Jo looked smug at the expression on Dean's face.

'What did she know that I would want to know?' He thought to himself, as his heart dropped down to the pit of his stomach.

"What kind of information?" Dean shot at her, as nonchalantly as he could. He crossed his arms.

"Information about a certain someone who has the ability to walk into your dreams," Jo said in high-pitched, sing-song voice. "I'm sure you wouldn't be interested though. It is none of your business after all…" She continued with an air of mischievousness.

Dean had no other choice. "What do you want to know."

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you?" Jo feigned deafness, cupping her hand to her ear.

"What do you want to know about my business. In exchange for this information you think I want." Dean said flatly. Looking straight ahead.

He knew how Jo could get about this stuff. To say Chick Flick didn't cover it was an understatement when it came to Dean and his "business". Or anyone's business when it came to this kind of thing, really. She couldn't contain herself usually.

"I don't need to know about your gory details, but I do need to know what she said to you." Jo's expression was a little bit more serious than usual when it came to this kind of 'business.'

"Well…" Dean began. Stuttering and wondering where to begin. What to say. What to leave out. What he was going to say in response.

Jo crossed her arms, leaned back, and just stared at Dean. Waiting.

Dean looked away. Gathering his thoughts. It was a moment before he spoke.

"She came to me, here actually. Must be neutral ground." Dean's throat was suddenly dry. He took a quick sip of his water and continued.

"She came to apologize about how she treated and talked to me. About the job. Last night when I went chasing after her and that Pretty Boy Witch. She was concerned that I thought she was something to be hunted. Asked if she was a distraction. And she left me an open invitation." Dean said flatly. Trying not to bring too much attention to that last part. The most important part.

That was the best he could do when it came to summing up what had happened. Without giving away any gory, or personal, details. He had to have _some _privacy around here with his own thoughts.

"Good. I was afraid she was going to chicken out. What did you tell her?"

Dean looked over at Jo with an annoyed and utterly surprised expression on his face, already feeling violated. "This is not a freeway and a bike path, Joanna Beth. Fess up."

"Please, answer first and I will tell you everything. Almost, everything." Jo pleaded. Pulling her best pouty face.

"Fine! Like I have privacy around here, to begin with anyway! I told her my dad had chewed me up and spat me out for far less. That it was no big deal. I told her I was distracted by her. That she was not something that needed to be hunted. She left right after the 'open invitation' part." Dean concluded. The tone of his voice apparent that he was done elaborating on the subject.

"She has been asking about you, you know." Jo said. Dead stared at her. She was looking down and away. Like she was telling someone else's secrets. Which she technically was.

"She asked me about your story. Your past. She asked about Sam and how close you guys are. How good of hunters you guys are. How good of a hunter _YOU_ are, in particular." Jo paused.

"The first night she wanted to know everything I knew about you. The big things, the rumors, the truth. She even asked what your favorite color was. I don't even know, so I couldn't tell her."

She sighed. Pausing again for a moment, deciding what to say next.

"I guess you could say she got a little carried away with the Dream Walking. I know what she can do when she does that." That was definitely a blush spreading across Jo's face.

"I can only imagine. She had her way with me. And we are leaving that and that, Dean Winchester." Jo said finitely at the eager expression that crossed Dean's face.

"Not to sound weird. This is the biggest compliment she can give a person, really. She traced your birth chart and has done quite a few readings on you. She told me your mind is stronger to her than so many of the others. Even mine, and we have known each other for a very long time. She knows my mind… intimately." The blush returned to Jo's face and she looked away again.

"I think it is safe to assume you both are as enamored with each other as the other is. Now the questions that remain are: What now and what are you going to do about it?" Jo finally said.

Since when was Dean letting Jo play matchmaker? She did pose some very serious questions that needed to be answered, though. Dean lost himself in thought for a moment. Still silent.

Behind Dean, the door opened, blinding Jo for a moment until Sam's large frame blocked out most of the light and the door closed again behind him. He made a beeline for Jo and Dean.

"So…?" He asked expectantly.

"So what?" Dean replied. "Did you find us a new case?" Dean congratulated himself on the nice timing of this swift diversion.

"Actually, yeah I did," Sam said, his brows knitting together.

"A few states over, there have been some disappearances, and one person was found wandering the local woods. They had escaped an abandoned mine and wandered until they were found by local authorities. The mine was never found. Their story is way up our ally. So, get this, they were trapped in their dream world. Their own personal 'Fantasyland'." Sam said. Another look of triumph on his face.

"Sounds like a Djinn to me," Dean said with a smile on his face. Finally, a hunt where they were going in knowing, more than likely, exactly what they were up against. And how to kill it. Not many times out of 10 did that actually happen.

"I'll go get the lamb's blood!" Dean got up, exclaiming excitedly.

This was exactly what he needed right now. A job to focus on. He needed mental and physical focus right now. He needed that in order to decide what he was going to do about J. What he was going to do to J… Yeah, Dean needed a job right now. A job far away from The Roadhouse, but still close enough.

The place was only an all-night drive east. Dean could make it in before sunrise, he smirked to himself.

"But what about your unfinished business?" Jo interjected.

"What about it?" Sam asked, semi-puzzled. Looking between Dean and Jo.

Dean was giving Jo a pleading and serious look Sam didn't see.

"Nothing. Forget I said anything." Jo said as she headed into the back room of the bar.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked, turning on his brother with an amused expression on his face.

"Not much." Dean replied. Which was actually true. She didn't have much to say about his dream. He wasn't lying. Just leaving a lot of things out.

"Oh." Sam's face fell slightly. "So, when did you want to get started on this case?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Dean stared down the dark, two-lane highway. Somewhere in eastern Iowa. Sam was asleep, riding shotgun. The boys were heading to Madison, Wisconsin. It was sometime after 1 AM. They had gotten a late start since they did most of the hard research and preparing back at the motel.

The police reports and witness testimonies were enough to go off of. They knew what, when, why, and how. They only needed to figure out a plan, and WHO exactly they were looking for. The witness never saw the person. So, all they would need to do was flash a badge and ask a few questions. As per their usual routine.

A routine Dean was glad to drop back into.

They would be there by morning if Dean drove all night. And he liked it that way. Just him, the Impala, and a long stretch of open road. Even with Sammy asleep in the passenger seat, and all. This was part of Dean's personal heaven.

A thought came to Dean's mind at something Jo had said the night before at The Roadhouse. Something about being glad she hadn't picked another song off of that album that J had sung from. The look on J's face was enough to elicit the memory and some curiosity out of him. Now, if only he could remember the song…

"Son of a Bitch," Dean whispered to himself several minutes later.

He knew it was a Lady Gaga song. That he could remember. But since he never heard it, or heard of it, he couldn't remember the name of the track.

Goddamnit.

He sat there, staring at the road concentrating on that conversation. On the bits he could remember. Trying to jog his memory. It wasrightthere. It was one word! He just kept seeing Jo's smug expression and the look of horror on J's face.

But what was that word!?

"Oh, shut up. I could have picked…."

'Could have pickedWHAT?' Dean said to himself, starting to get frustrated.

He was going to have to either suck it up, or wake up Sam and ask him if he remembered.

He was going to have to suck it up.

Dean glared out the windshield for what felt like an hour. Concentrating on that night's events. Still trying to remember the name of the song.

He pulled into a 24-hour gas station to stretch his legs and to fill up some time later.

While waiting at the pump, he thought of another option that he had not initially thought of.

He grabbed his phone from the dash and opened a new text to Jo. She was always up really late so Dean was expecting a reply. It still wasn't even 3 AM yet.

"What was that song you were going to play at karaoke? The other one by Lady Gaga?"

SEND

'What have I done.' Dean thought to himself. He could not believe he just asked Jo about a Lady Gaga song.

Curiosity did kill the cat.

A few minutes later his screen lit up with the response: "Swine. Why are you asking? Aren't you supposed to be driving?"

"I'm stopped for gas. Calm down. I couldn't remember. But I remember J's face. The look of horror made me think to look it up. Why did you almost pick it?"

SEND

Dean put the nozzle back into its cradle before getting back into the Impala. He quickly looked up a YouTube video of the song, and then one of the one she had actually sung, letting them fully buffer before gearing up and getting back on the road.

He borrowed Sam's headphones since he was obviously asleep, and not listening to whatever he had been playing. It paused, whatever it was when he unplugged them. If anything, Dean was doing him a favor.

He deftly put the earphone in one ear and plugged it into his own phone. Just as he hit play and the opening of the song started, a text popped up on his screen.

"Just listen to it. You'll understand why. And I think you might actually like the song, too. Listen carefully!"

Dean continued down the road, listening to the song. He then continued to replay it, over and over until he knew he had the lyrics down.

*Author's Note: Please listen to Swine by Lady Gaga, before continuing with this chapter*

Over and over. Dean played that song. He couldn't just look up the lyrics right now, he was driving down some two-lane high way in the middle of nowhere; and in the middle of the night. He was reckless, but never in the text-and-drive kind of way. That was just stupid. And he could imagine what Sam would have to say about it if he did, and was caught.

After that song, he listened to the one J had sung, and proceeded to analyze that for an unknown extended period of time. Deciphering more lyrics. Dean was amazed at how different the songs were. This was all Lady Gaga? Dean might be a fan. These songs were no Poker Face. They were better.

He finally pulled out his earbuds, having put the second one in to help him better hear and understand the lyrics. He must have been listening for an hour, an hour and a half. Maybe 45 minutes total, before he was certain he knew exactly what the songs said and were about. Then his mind just wandered. That part wasn't hard at all.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

Swine was a song purely about sex. The one she had sung, MANiCURE, was a bit more fluff when it came to the lyrics; but still, all about sex. Dean was intrigued by the lyrics and their possible meanings. He mused for quite a while on the one Jhadsung. It was not as in your face apparent as Swine was.

Dean thought of J singing this new song, instead of the one she had sung back at the bar. How exactly would she have 'performed' this one? Why didn't Jo pick it? What made Jo pick that other song instead? What was the song she had picked been about, really? And how, exactly, had J sung that one? Why did she have that horrified expression when Jo teased it? Or was that just a reaction to her name being said?

Juliet…

He knew one thing. He most certainly did not know why Jo almost picked it.

A flood of questions and memories now almost drowned Dean. It was not at all unpleasant. Now that he was not concentrating so hard on the music, he still had a lot to think about. He let his mind wander through his thoughts while he jammed out to the two alternating songs that were now stuck in his head.

He remained lost in his thoughts until Sam woke up, sometime around 5 AM. The sun was just barely breaking the horizon. And they were very near their destination.

So much for keeping his head in the game.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Dean was dog-tired. His mind was smoking from the night of driving. Alone with his thoughts. He didn't even get a cup of coffee when they finally rolled into the outskirts of Madison and stopped into an old diner. Lou's Diner. Like one of those ones from the '50s. Only this one looked time had not been good to it.

The booth cushions were duct-taped together in places. The tables were wobbly and peeling. But the waitress was very nice, the food was hot and decent. After going all night Dean was tired and hungry. He was happy to be wherever the food was. The other customers were a mix of blue-collar workers. Either just getting off the night-shift, or just going into their day shift. Sam and Dean blended right into all the flannel.

Sam brought out his laptop to go over the facts of the case again.

As they ate, they determined they would find a motel for the night first. Dean was going to take a nap while Sam played dress-up to visit their victim at his day job. Ask him for their missing information. Sam would return to the motel and they would plan from there.

When they entered their room, Sam went to turn towards his bag for the appropriate attire for the 'interrogation'. Dean just flopped face-first onto his bed. When Sam had come out of the bathroom, showered, shaved, and read to play FBI, he found Dean in the exact same position he had left him in.

Dean had completely zonked out. Fully-clothed. Shoes still on.

He was out for a good few hours. A dreamless sleep.

Sam was able to get all the necessary information from the victim that was needed to pinpoint where and who. He was able to conclude that the location of the initial poisoning was a local BBQ joint. One of the waitstaff had to be their Djinn.

Upon return to the motel several hours later, after casing the currently closed restaurant, Sam found Dean in the exact same position he had left him in. Again. Dude hadn't even woken up to take his shoes off. Sam immediately tried waking him, only to be greeted with a sneer and a pillow to the face. Well, at least he was alive.

Since it was evident that Dean was out of commission for the foreseeable future, Sam was left to go find lunch, and do some more digging into the case. Can't ever be too prepared. He looked up everything from the restaurant's history and current staff list to hacking into their security camera system. Hoping something would lead him to a who.

After a couple of hours more of research, Sam kept coming back to the same set of facts. The bar of the restaurant was where all the action happened. Not only had he seen their current victim on the footage, but he was also able to go back far enough to see the last two people who had been reported missing. That's not all he was able to find out.

Dean groaned as he rolled over and sat up. He looked over at the dimly lit table where Sam was working.

"What time is it and why didn't you wake me up?"

"It's about 4 PM and I tried. And got a pillow to the face. I know better than to wake you up when you get like that, Dean." Sam pulled another Bitchface as Dean stood, realizing he was still wearing shoes and the whole nine yards. Damn, he really must have been OUT.

"So, get this." Sam immediately launched into his research and his findings of that morning and afternoon.

"So, I've narrowed it down to the bar inside. I have even made a list of the employees that were working the nights of the three abductions. I didn't find any common customers, ruling out the possibility that it's someone who frequents this place." Sam concluded, after his long explanation of his findings while Dean had been noncoherent.

"I brought you a cold brew. It's in the mini-fridge. You're welcome."

Dean looked up, surprised. "Thanks, Sammy." He said as he turned toward the mini-fridge in the cupboard in the corner. Thankful that his little brother had his back. Even in these smallest of ways.

"I'm just going to shower and change and we can head on over there and check things out," Dean said as he grabbed his discarded bag from the floor next to his bed.

"Ok. I'll take a nap in the meantime. Since you got me beat in the sleep department and all. I have to do some catching up." Sam said in a mocking tone.

Dean threw him one of his own Bitchfaces before heading into the small bathroom.

Damn, Dean really must have been tired. He stretched as he let the water run hot. He could feel the stiffness. In every muscle. Even the ones he didn't know he had. It wasn't the same as sitting in a car for hours and hours on end. That was natural. Second nature. It was the haven't moved a muscle in more than several hours kind of stiff.

The steam of the shower was quickly filling the small space as he stepped into the tub, and pulled the curtain closed securely. Dean turned his back to the spray and let it hit the base of his neck as he moved his head from side to side. Letting the hot water loosen the knots that had formed from being facedown for so long.

As Dean continued to wake up, loosen up his stiff muscles, and regain full brain function, a thought occurred to him; J hadn't been in his dreams. In fact, he didn't recall anything at all. Not too strange, but considering the last few nights, it still felt slightly off normal. Abnormal.

He should have been excited to get some decent sleep since that is a commodity for hunters. You take it when and where you can get it. And with everything that was going on in real life, as well as in his dreams, considered. But he still could not help himself when he thought about how it felt… lonely. Cold.

Almost as if he had subconsciously been expecting her to be there. It was almost as if he was looking forward to it, and was now slightly disappointed that it had not happened again. Dean guessed he just assumed J would show up again. As to why he would assume such things, remained a mystery.

Back at The Roadhouse, Sam and Dean had left before she showed up to help with the night shift. There wasn't any time for Dean to even see her, let alone talk to her. And Jo had not been any more forthcoming with information about her.

At least she promised that she was doing the same thing to J when it came to information about himself. Jo was keeping to the '_you guys go find out on your own'_ method. And she was surprisingly resolute.

As he turned to put his face into the hot spray, behind his closed eyelids, he saw green and brown duo-toned eyes. Honey covered emeralds. He missed them. Missed their fire. He wondered where she was and what she was doing. What was she doing while he stood naked and wet in this shower hundreds of miles away? The picture of her bent over her work, from the first time Dean saw J, appeared in his head. Then the vision of red lace from his first dream.

The way she had looked at him that first night during his dream. Before Dean was aware that what was happening was real. He almost felt like he was under her intense gaze just thinking about those moments. That J was in control of her appearance of herself in his own dreams. And she chose red lace. The same red lace he had caught just a glimpse of the first time he had laid eyes on her? He hoped so. The piercings hiding underneath the light fabric…

Dean wanted to play with those piercings. He wanted to kiss those full lips. He wanted to wrap his arms around this woman and squeeze that perfect ass as he had in his dream. He wanted J and the physical need was becoming more and more apparent. More and more of a problem. A complication. A distraction.

He had to keep his mind clear. Dean was afraid that if he didn't, he would make another mistake. Mistakes are not an option in this line of work. So, he allowed himself to think of what he had kept unthinkable. Until now.

Dean thought of that tattoo. Tracing it with his teeth and his tongue, feeling J's legs wrap around him as he did so. Feeling her hair entwined in his fingers as he pulled her head back to gain access to her neck. Running his hands all over the hot flesh he had once felt so closely but remained so far. Eliciting lustful exclamations and reactions in return.

Dean wondered what she really sounded like. What she really looked like when she was being handled in such a way. How would she handle him?

As the images continued to flash through his head, he relieved some of the physical pressure that had been building since he first laid eyes on this tall, dark, and mysterious stranger. The now warm water ran down, washing away his tension. Both metaphorically and physically, now.

Dean shivered. This time it was the water. He was confident he wouldn't be distracted during this hunt. He had fixed the problem. At least for the time being. J wasn't just going to go away, he knew that.

But he was also determined to leave these thoughts in this shower, and get this job done. For the time being.

No distractions. No mistakes. Clean.

Dean stepped out of the shower and wiped the fogged-up mirror with his towel. He was able to look upon his reflection momentarily before the fog consumed it once more. He saw his eyes and the shadows beneath. He looked like he had not slept in days.

'Keep your head in the game. Keep your eyes on the prize… of a job well done.' He added, thinking again of J in her red lace. 'This might be a little harder than I initially anticipated.' Dean thought to himself as he finished getting dressed in the now too steamy bathroom.

'Son of a bitch.'

He wiped the mirror again of condensation and looked himself hard in the reflection. He saw a battle being fought behind the green eyes that stared back at him. A cold war.

Dean hoped Sam wouldn't notice. And if he did, he prayed to God that he wouldn't say anything. No chick flick moments. There was no way in hell Dean was even going to attempt to explain what was going on.

He focused himself on the job at hand and reached for the door handle. It was time to wake Sammy up and get this show on the road.

There was a monster to kill.


	12. Chapter 12

Dean pulled the Impala up to the BBQ place as the sun was sinking behind the low clouds to the west on the following Friday afternoon. They had decided to go for a nice steak dinner. For one, Dean really wanted a steak, and two, what better way to case the place than from the inside.

They had forgone doing anything but monitoring the joint's security cameras for a couple of days. The Djinn they were after had recently fed, and caught a new victim. They would be least likely to draw attention to themselves when they were not out on the hunt. And anything smart enough wouldn't attempt a new abduction for at least a few days after they were dumb enough to let one get away.

Sam walked up to the hostess station, while Dean stood back and surveyed the restaurant. It definitely looked a lot different from the angles of the security cameras. And now that both Dean and Sam knew where every single one was, they knew where the blind spots were if they needed to take anything out here on site.

Dean wondered if the Djinn knew of the cameras and their positions in depth. If that's why they hadn't been able to see the tell-tale flashing eyes on any of the footage. Dean smiled at the cute girl behind the podium. He heard Sam suggest the bar area to her. They were then seated with a perfect view of the bar.

So far, so good. The only thing now was to order their food and wait. And watch.

"So, what's going on in that stubborn head of yours? Sam asked pointedly. As soon as the waiter had taken their orders and left.

"Wining and dining me doesn't work, Sammy. I'm not some cheap date." Dean responded sarcastically.

"You have avoided the subject for days. I'm not going to keep letting you brood in your little corner. Come on, out with it. It's getting kind of sad, actually. What's been bugging you so much?" Sam leaned back, eyes intently on Dean. There was a genuine look of concern on his face.

Dean glared at him. Of course, he was taking the opportunity of a stake-out to spring this on him. Typical. If Sam couldn't weasel information out of you, he cornered you. How was he going to get out of this one in one piece?

It was true. Dean had been avoiding the subject. Like the plague. He was stuck on his unfinished business. And this is exactly why he hated having unfinished business. Sammy never missed a beat.

Truth be told he was hung up on J.

She hadn't made an appearance in his dreams; which he knew he had had. It's not like Dean ever formally ever got her number or anything. Everything was always said, or done, in his dreams. And she had not been in them, other than figments of Dean's own imagination.

"Later. We need to keep our eyes open. And, I for one, am looking forward to having a nice steak in the meantime. Please don't go ruining it with you chick flick moments, Samantha." Dean sat back in his chair, glaring off into any other direction that was not at Sam.

"I'm not ruining anything. I just want to know what's going on. Have you seen yourself? Your head is everywhere _but_ in the game. At least let's get it out in the open now so we can take care of this. Then we will take care of that." Sam said while he ran his fingers through his hair, getting frustrated.

"First thing's first, you ain't taking care of my anything. Second of all, this is my business and mine alone. Meaning, it isn't any of yours. So, stay out of it." Dean nearly growled back at Sam.

"Hey man, I'm just trying to be supportive." Sam threw his hands up defensively.

"All I know is that something is bugging you and it's not doing you any favors by just dwelling on it. Or whatever the hell it is that you're doing." Sam concluded.

"I'll take care of it, Sammy. I always do. Don't worry about me. Keep your eyes open."

Speaking of which, here came their dinner order.

An hour later Sam and Dean were waiting on dessert. For once they had both ordered desserts. Usually, it's just Dean and his pie.

Today it was a big slice of raspberry pie for Dean and some low-cal, dark chocolate something or another for Sammy. With a latte. Dean never understood coffee with dessert. What was the point exactly?

While Sam and Dean shot the shit about Bobby and needing to go visit him, among other things. Nothing too memorable. Dean noticed a redhead up at the bar ordering a drink. Maybe he would have some fun tonight after all.

This Djinn was either not there or hiding in plain sight, as they were. There were two staff still unaccounted for. So, in all actuality, the thing might not even be there tonight and they wasted an opportunity. At least they got a decent steak dinner. Maybe Dean would stick around for a few drinks.

Maybe make this night not so much of a waste of time. Dean was tired of Sam trying to pry. He kept dropping hints and trying to segway their conversations towards The Roadhouse and then J. They were both getting irritated with each other.

They had their desserts in silence when they arrived.

"Well, I'm going to walk back to the motel since it seems you're going to stay here and go after that redhead you keep staring at. I, for one, am glad you're doing _something_ about your 'unfinished business'. Even if it is self-destructive and totally not going to solve any of your problems. And may possibly give you new ones." Sam gave Dean a Bitchface which he gladly returned.

Dean was getting tired of Sam trying to get all emotional and deep with him. He was glad to have some alone time if anything. He could use a few drinks on his own. Just a man and his thoughts.

Maybe he would chase the redhead for some fun. Why not? In the end, J was just another chick. She wasn't special. At least he would not admit that she was.

Even if she was, Dean wasn't about to do anything about it. He couldn't, even if he wanted to. Not in this line of work. So why not distract, instead?

As Sam said, 'are you happy or are you distracted?'

Dean wanted to be distracted.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Two beers later, Dean was up at the bar working up the nerve to go talk to the cute redhead. Usually, he didn't have that much trouble just walking up to anyone really, and striking up a conversation. That had always been easy for him.

He was usually cocky and oozed confidence. Tonight, he felt timid and halfhearted about the whole thing. It was throwing him off. Part of his brain was telling him to chase that tail. That that was what he _really_ wanted. What he really needed.

Another part of it just did not want to. Part of his brain was convinced it knew what it wanted. And this was not it. Something just didn't feel right. He wasn't into the hunt, the chase, as much as usual. His heart was not in it. And Dean's mind kept landing back on J.

'I want to talk to her, not some stranger.' Dean thought to himself as he made eye contact for the dozenth time with the redhead. She was aware of his existence and her body language was just begging for him to come over and say hi.

'Fuck it. It's not like I can do much better.' He sourly thought to himself. More self-loathing coming in hot his tail.

Dean got up from his place at the bar and walked over to the girl. Turning that good old-fashioned charm on while he did so. He was on the hunt now. She didn't stand a chance.

"Hi, I'm Dean. I noticed you were here alone and was wondering if you would like some company." Dean said in his most deep, gravely, seductive voice he reserved for slam dunks.

She was speechless for a moment. Obviously stunned by him. Dean chuckled inwardly to himself. He noticed that she had green eyes. Not nearly as deep green as J's. They didn't have the same fire as J's either. They were just green.

His charisma faltered while she gathered herself. She didn't notice a thing.

"Hi. My name is Audrey. You're more than welcome to." She said breathlessly. She smiled warmly at him, gesturing to the chair next to hers. She looked him up and down as he sat down.

"What are you doing here all alone, Audrey?" Dean asked, looking back at her, almost robotically. Still working that charm. Working that smolder. On autopilot already.

"I actually got stood up. I have been denying it for the last half hour. I think that calls for another drink." She waved down the bartender.

"I'll drink to that" Dean replied, also motioning for a new beer.

Audrey and Dean sat there talking about absolutely nothing for almost an hour. His attention was only half on the conversation at this point. She was supplying most of the dialog. He wasn't bothering to keep up anymore.

Dean was used to this. Just let them talk about anything they wanted, and act interested long enough. Let them drink enough. Most people open up way too quickly to complete strangers.

Not only do they open up, but they also get close to you. And you don't even have to try that hard. Audrey was one of those people. Usually, this was cake for him. She's in his bag already.

She was very pretty. Everything from her bust size to her hair color, down to the tiny black dress and red heels she was wearing, screamed Dean's usual siren song. This was the kind of woman he usually lusted after. He should have been all over this chick. She was his epitome of _'Hot Chick I Want to Bang'_. So why didn't he want to? Why did he just want to leave?

Dean's heart wasn't into it, his brain had checked out twenty minutes ago. He tried picturing her naked. Bent over. He honestly tried to fantasize about this woman, and he just could not. Every time a new image came to his mind, the woman in front of him changed into a brunette. Another set of eyes kept busting into his train of thought.

There was another face, another bent-over woman, that held his attention. One that made him feel that fire inside. And she was hundreds of miles away. Dean couldn't help himself. He had to admit this was going nowhere and that he needed out.

He groaned internally, wishing to himself: 'I wish she was here. I wish this was her. What am I doing, and why isn't this J?' Dean wondered internally as he forced yet another laugh at something Audrey had just said.

He was thankful that she was too into him, and her side of the conversation, that she had not noticed Dean's internal struggle. The war that was raging inside his head. The fact that he was becoming less and less interested in her and the conversation.

He wondered to himself what J would think of this whole situation. Dean, at a bar, with a smoking hot woman who was everything but physically all over him. Him, not feeling any of it. Thinking of another woman. Thinking of her. Wishing he had left with Sam.

This was all so fucked up. What had he gotten himself into? How was he going to ditch this Audrey chick without being a complete dick? Dean thought he was going to have to take one for the team and just admit he was the bad guy most women pegged him as when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He pulled his phone out and saw that Jo was calling.

He excused himself and answered his phone.

"Hey, Jo. What's going on."

"Hey, Dean. I'm actually calling because J told me to. She's convinced you need help. I know this is going to sound weird, but I trust her. She said, and I quote: 'He needs a way out. And now he owes me one.' Does this mean anything to you?" Jo asked. It sounded like she was entertaining someone's wild idea. An idea that wasn't feasible, possible, or practical.

"Actually, yeah, I do need a way out and I would really appreciate it if you told her that. Thanks. I do owe her one." Dean said, looking back at Audrey. She was waiting patiently back at the bar. Stirring her drink halfheartedly. He suddenly felt better than he had in days.

"What the hell, Winchester. What's going on?" Jo said. Shock apparent in her voice.

"Have J explain." He said before he ended the call. He knew that was going to earn him a chewing out later. Jo hated being hung up on. But this was worth it. That and the thought of J explaining what had just happened made him feel warm under the collar.

He used this slight blush to his advantage as he walked back to Audrey, her face falling at the look on his.

"I'm sorry, that was my brother. His car isn't starting and he needs me to go get him and help tow his car. I have to get going." He looked at her with his best smoldering expression to help ease her down a bit more.

She saw his look of pretend disappointment and gave a small smile.

"It's ok. I'll give you my number. I hope everything is ok with his car." She grabbed a coaster and a pen from behind the bar to write her number on.

As the bartender walked by, Dean caught his elbow.

"Can I get our tabs, please. I have to get going."

"One moment, sir," the young man said.

"You don't have to pick up mine, too! Not when you need to leave!" Audrey insisted.

"It's ok, darlin'. It would be the least I could do." 'While I'm sitting here thinking of another woman while trying to pick you up.' He finished to himself.

Audrey smiled and flashed an amorous look at him.

Dean took her number and put it in his back pocket. He paid both of their bills, and tipped the bartender.

As Dean walked out the door he reached back into his pocket retrieved the phone number and threw it into the trash outside the door of the restaurant.

There was no way in hell he wanted it. J was the only thing on his mind. She had made Jo call him. She had made Jo call him to save him from the situation he was in. How was it she knew he needed an excuse to get away?

Has she known he was thinking about her? Did she have any idea what just happened? That Dean was trying to pick up a chick? There were so many questions buzzing around Dean's skull.

She had called. She had made Jo call him. She knew, to a certain extent, that Dean needed an out. And she had provided that for him. She was thinking about him in some capacity.

J was thinking about him, Dean. After he hadn't heard from her in days. What felt like an eternity.

This little fact made Dean's heart soar. His stomach felt weightless. He was smiling so hard to himself.

Dean was so distracted he didn't notice someone following him out into the parking lot. He didn't notice the headlights blaze to life and follow him out of the parking lot. He did notice that his gas tank was almost empty.

Hadn't he filled up the tank when they rolled into town? He shouldn't need gas for at least another few days. They were staying right down the street from the restaurant, they were staking out.

He pulled into a gas station and got out of the car to go inside to pay for some gas. Followed by a pair of headlights that flashed at him.

That was the last thing Dean remembered.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note:**

Hi, all! Thank you so much for reading and for the follows/favorites! I have not forgotten or given up on this story. I honestly don't think I could at this point. I am too invested and there are too many points, hunts, and situations on The Timeline I still have yet to address, or even get to.

In fact... I'm 13 chapters ahead of this. (Yes, I am currently writing chapter 32.)

_AUTHOR'S REQUEST!_

I'd like to know what you guys think so far. Please let me know in a review.

**If you have any questions about J, specifically from Dean and Sam's perspective, that have not been addressed and/or elaborated on, please also leave them in review. It would be amazing to get some questions from outside sources. Thank you!**

Hooray for character development. She can't remain a stranger forever, even thought she is no stranger to me.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

It was hot and muggy in the garage. The sign out front read Singer's Mechanic and Salvage. The old garage had two cars parked in the bays. A beautifully restored and maintained '67 Impala sat in one bay, and a semi-restored '66 Chevelle was in the other.

Dean was stuck under the '66 Chevelle he was restoring for Bobby.

It had been awfully nice of Bobby to let him stay with him and work here while Dean was in between jobs. Bobby needed a hand with a few projects and Dean needed the money.

Dean turned his head, pausing his movements for a moment. He thought he had heard someone call his name. Must have been hearing things. Or maybe it was the radio in the office. Bobby was doing paperwork in there.

"How much longer you gonna be, boy? It's lunchtime and I don't feel like waiting much longer." Bobby called from the attached office.

"Not too much longer, Bobby! Almost finished. Just cleaning up." Dean called from under the car.

Replacing oil pans was not the hardest job in the world. It wasn't fun either. It was always so messy. You almost wanted to wear an extra layer in this heat, just to keep the mess away.

He finished checking and wiping the bottom of the new can, and then double-checked his tightening job. With his shirt stuck to himself, and grease covering 68% of him, Dean slid out from under the car.

He wiped his hands on a shop rag while heading towards the office to meet Bobby.

Before he could get halfway across the garage to the office something stopped him dead in his tracks. Someone called his name. Again. Someone had definitely just called out his name. And it unquestionably was not Bobby.

"Dean!" a female yelled. It sounded like it was coming from far away. Kind of like it was through water. Muffled, but still distinct. It was definitely coming from outside of the shop. Dean wheeled around. Moving towards the open garage doors, trying to gauge his next response.

He didn't see anything. Or anyone. Where was Bobby? Hadn't he heard that just now, too? It was definitely loud enough for him to hear, now that he knew that the radio was off. Why hadn't he responded? Didn't matter if it was his name or not, whoever it was, was obviously in distress.

Then, right next to his ear, he heard it again. Only this time she was screaming.

"DEAN!"

He knew that voice. That was J. Why was she screaming his name? Why did she sound like that? Why was she screaming his name like _THAT_?

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

Dean turned around, again. This time facing into the shop. And there she was. Standing there like she had been standing there that whole time.

Just as tall, dark-haired, and mysterious as before. Still with the same green and brown eyes. Only now her clothes were dirty and ripped in places. Like she had gone on a hike and had taken a tumble. Or four. J launched herself at Dean, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder.

"Oh, my Gods I cannot believe I found you. Holy shit! Okay. You need to listen to me, Dean. You need to wake up!" She said intently, pulling away.

Then she took a moment to take in his appearance and suddenly her hands were gone and she was five steps away. Having backed away from him as quickly as she had advanced. He wondered why slightly hurt.

It was like she had been burned and recoiled from it. Her eyes, those honey-covered emeralds, looked Dean up and down quickly. Assessing him. There was a new look behind them. He saw her eyes linger in places as she surveyed him silently.

Again, Dean felt those eyes penetrating his very being. He felt suddenly very self-conscious, yet invigorated at the same time. He wanted J to look. He wanted to be the reason that there was red creeping into her cheeks. He wanted to feel her fire. He also needed to know a few things.

"Uh, J what's going on? Why are you here? And why are you here looking like that?" Dean suddenly noticed the actual state of her clothes. Worse than first glances. "What the hell happened? How come you just magically showed up here? And why on earth do you look like you've been in a fight? That's dried blood…" Dean motioned to her dirty and ripped clothing. He looked her up and down. A little more slowly than he had intended.

He hoped she hadn't noticed.

She honestly looked like she had just come back from a hunt. A very hands-on hunt. There was blood. It didn't look like much of it was hers. She was covered in dirt and sweat. Her hair and clothes were a mess. Dean was getting more and more concerned about her well-being as he looked on, his train of thought shifting.

J interrupted his train of thought. He intense gaze wavering.

"Dean. You need to listen to me. The Djinn got to you. You are asleep. This is a dream. You have been poisoned. You need to wake yourself up. And I mean like_ now_. All other information can wait until we sort this out." Her voice was urgent in the way that set off Dean's suspicions. His instincts. Okay, fight or flight, here we go.

What was going on here, exactly?

"How can this be a dream? Explain that to me. How do I know I just haven't finally cracked? After everything. We all know that's been a long time coming… Either way, I've been awake all morning. I even had a dream last night. It's lunchtime, I'm staring, and I've been working on that car all morning. Look at me!" Dean motioned to the Chevelle and then to himself, sweaty and covered with various car fluids and greases.

Her eyes roamed everywhere he was gesturing to before they looked back up at Dean. She made a show of it. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. He could see her eyes flash mischievously.

"You'd rather be crazy, huh? Of course, you would have thought you went crazy before believing me. Typical Winchester." J growled to herself. "What was did you dream about last night?" J countered missing only half a beat. Her eyes were hard now. Her arms were crossed across her chest and she was leaning back onto on leg in a powerful contrapposto stance. This was a woman on a mission, and it needed to be accomplished, like yesterday.

Dean thought for a second. About to answer truthfully in spite of J's condescending tone. It had been something completely mundane. He had been content on telling her exactly what it had been. Like going to the grocery store and seeing one of his ex's. Which ex had it been? Was it at the grocery store?

It was only then that Dean realized he could not answer. Any part of the question. Because he just could not remember. The memory wasn't there anymore. A memory of a memory in its place now.

He was sure he had remembered, because he remembered laughing about it while he was brushing his teeth this morning, almost choking on toothpaste. What _THE HELL_ was going on here? Dean a feeling in his gut that this was not right.

"The pieces are starting to fall out of place, aren't they?" She asked quietly. Dean looked at her. His eyes searching hers. He could lose himself in them if he wasn't careful.

"No. I remember. Like I said. I have been here all morning. There is no way this is all a dream." Dean gestured to the garage around them, halfheartedly now. Only trying to convince himself. The alternative was not something he could easily face.

"Where's Sam?" J asked flatly.

"He's back at Stanford. I'm working here to help pay for his student loans. For the time being, anyway." Dean said. Very sure of this truth.

"Then you can look me in the eyes and tell me you and Sam were not just at The Roadhouse visiting Ellen and Jo, not two days ago? Where we met?" She paused and then added hastily, "In between jobs" J's eyes had suddenly gone hard. Resolute in her quest. She licked her lips. Dean watched the movement intently.

She was doing it again. She was commanding the attention. It caused Dean to stammer. He DID remember all of that. But that was impossible! He had been here the whole time… He looked up at J. Pleading with her to help him understand. His eyes must have conveyed, or she read his mind. Or both.

"The Djinn got to you. You were telling a story that was so good it attracted him, evidently. They love good storytelling and you have been doing a lot of that recently. Seems I wasn't the only one who noticed." She paused. Clearly not knowing how best to continue.

"He now has Sam, too." The look in J's eyes was enough to break anyone's heart. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep him safe for you. I tried. So, now I'm here."

Dean looked down. He couldn't take the intensity of the situation _and _of those eyes all at once.

Sam was in trouble. Shit just got real.

"So, now I am here to find you. My way. I need you to flex for me. I need you to trust me, Dean."

"Say what now?" Dean was beyond confused. He took stock right quick. Okay, so he was dreaming. This was a Djinn poison dream, though. So how was she here? Was that possible? How did that work? He looked back up at her. Wasn't this supposed to be his dream or fantasy reality?

He was working on cars, at Bobby's…. With no monsters. Okay, things were starting to add up.

"Explain it to me, J. Please." Dean could feel the urgency now. If he was not ok and Sam was not ok then things had gone very, VERY wrong.

"Remember the bartender? He slipped you sometime last night. Probably when you had all of your attention on that redhead. You are welcome for that, by the way. You will owe me more than one when we all get out of this. Don't get started with that now. Yes, I had Jo call you." She quickly added at the look of recognition on his face. He was just about to interrupt her to ask her about that.

"Now is not the time, I will explain later. Right now, we need to worry about how Sam and I came to get you, but the Djinn got the drop on us first. I was just barely able to get away. To hide. I had to leave my body to come to find you. I don't have all the time in the world here." J put the full weight of her gaze back on Dean.

His mind went blank for a moment under her gaze.

"Now wake up, and tell me where you are so I can come get you two." She said firmly. Eyes flashing with the command. "I need to hear you and I know you are perfectly capable of it. At least draw me to you."

"Tell you? How can I _tell_ you where I am? Once I wake up, you're gone. It's not like you can read my thoughts and can come find me that way." Dean said, exasperated.

His eyes widened slightly at the look on J's face.

"That may not necessarily be true. I managed to narrow down approximately where he has been stashing everyone, including you. But this mine has a lot of passages and hidden spaces. It would take days to find you guys the hard way. Getting lost is a big risk here. Besides, I have no backup. I need to get the drop on him first, this time."

J looked away again, looking like she was admitting something she wasn't exactly happy to admit. Her posture was still strong and resolute.

'God she is hot.' Momentarily flashed across Dean's mind. He let that one go.

"I'm meditating to get to this dream state. Once you're awake I can come find you. But you have to lead me. If you think something strong enough, think about it hard enough, for long enough, intensely enough… you can get through to me. I think. I'm not entirely sure how this all works or what the fuck is going on. This can happen even when you're awake, it seems." J looked nervous now.

"Remember when I said Djinn are attracted to storytelling? You've been… sending some stuff to me. Thoughts, since you left on this hunt. I do not think you are aware of it. If you were, I highly doubt you'd be sending me…. What you have been sending… Either way, if it got to me it might have gotten through to the Djinn as well. It's only the current theory."

Dean thought for a moment of all the things that had gone through his head about J since they had left. If even a portion of that got through to J, herself, he was royally screwed. She was probably creeped the hell out and thought he was just another hunter creep piece of shit. There were a fair few of those out there.

But she was still here. On a hunt. Needing him to do something.

Dean had an idea. He did not like it. At all. But it was still something.

"What was the loudest? What was I thinking about when I got through to you the loudest? Give me advice or something that I can use to help boost my signal." Dean said gruffly. Trying to hide his embarrassment.

J looked at him for a few seconds before responding. "I don't think you're going to be too happy about it, but I see your point." She looked down again before she continued.

"Swine and MANiCURE. You were quite focused on those songs for quite some time. Middle of the night. The night you and Sam left. I don't think I'm going to elaborate any further on that one. I don't think I have to."

Oh, that. Dean's face fell. Eyes widening slightly at the memories. He was certainly concentrating on those two songs, alright. What the lyrics were. What those lyrics meant. All the ways she would have or could have sung them. He was definitely screwed.

"Then I guess Lady Gaga is going to save my ass. I never thought I would ever say that."

"I may just turn you into a Little Monster, yet." She said, smiling up at him.

"As for what can boost your signal… this is all just speculation at this point. This part is as new to me as it is to you." J continued, addressing Dean's look of obvious confusion.

"I have never had to have this conversation before and I have never had anything like this happen before, so I don't know exactly what to say," J said exasperated. She took a deep breath.

"But I do have a few tips on what I was taught that may help you. Concentrate on your breathing. Think yoga bullshit. Deep, even breaths. Awareness and concentration are key. Being present and all that jazz." J rambled. She looked down again. This time concentrating on something.

"When you were thinking of those songs you were probably driving down some two-lane high way somewhere, right? Middle of the night. With no one or nothing around? Also guessing Sam was occupied. Asleep would be my preferred guess." J said, nonchalantly and very matter-of-factly. Like she hadn't just explained the situation to a T.

"Then again the following afternoon. You were alone. You were definitely alone at that time. But that time was different." J concluded.

The look on Dean's face at her statement made her continue, "That is how Dean Winchester meditates. Behind the wheel of his car, out on the open road. I need you to do that for me. And I need you to call out to me. Even if you gotta sex up the whole thing, I don't care. I care about finding you and Sam. Alive." Her eyes flashed. He could see the molten steel again. But only for a second.

Dean was taken aback by her sudden boldness. J didn't seem coy or afraid, or surprised, by anything she had just said. Not anymore at least. This was just another job now. There had been a shift in her resolve. It had hardened in a different way. Dean was fascinated.

That was not important, right now. Right now, he had to wake himself up. And he had done so only one other way before.

"Okay. Notes taken. Now you need to leave." Dean looked at her. He watched her expression flicker. He knew that look of inner turmoil.

"I have woken myself up from a Djinn poisoning before, but it ain't pretty. I don't want you here for that." Dean continued, to help break some of the sudden tension.

Her resolved melted and then hardened again, her expression unreadable. No evidence of anything in those green and brown eyes but pure determination. She knew he understood. But he didn't know why she suddenly bit her lip. He hoped she hadn't noticed him looking.

Just as quickly as before, she stepped forward and grabbed him by the back of his neck and kissed him. A full-on make-out session, kiss. Like a shove you against the wall kind of kiss, too. For one hot and heavy second Dean couldn't think of anything. But that fire.

The same fire in her eyes. He could feel it, now. He wanted more of it. He wanted it to consume him. Consume his thoughts. His entire being. Everything. The things she was doing with her tongue on his. Dean was burning inside.

She pulled away, both of them panting slightly. Why was she always doing that? Pulling away like that? _No fair!_ "That should help boost your signal." She stepped back and was gone in the blink of an eye.

Dean stood there in the dream garage for a moment. He certainly had a lot on his mind. The fire. He still tasted it on his tongue. He took a moment to revel in the feeling. Just a moment.

Dean had to act now. Sammy was in danger. He had to wake up. J was counting on him. Everything was counting on him. On his abilities, if he really did have any. Or maybe this was just some kind of a sick, twisted, and perverted cosmic joke. He didn't think so.

Either way, he headed towards the empty office.

The revolver was in the drawer.

It wasn't the best thing ever, but you had to wake up if you were dead.


	15. Chapter 15

_AUTHOR'S REQUEST!_

I'd like to know what you guys think so far. Please let me know in a review.

**If you have any questions about J, specifically from Dean and Sam's perspective, that have not been addressed and/or elaborated on, please also leave them in review. It would be amazing to get some questions from outside sources. Thank you!**

Hooray for character development. She can't remain a stranger forever, even thought she is no stranger to me.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Dean woke suddenly, with a start. He _hated _dying. Even when it was to wake himself up.

Considering the number of times Dean Winchester has died, you'd think he would get used to it. Never in a million years will he ever get used to it.

As Dean got his bearings, the poison started wearing off faster, now that he was no longer unconscious.

He looked around; vision still slightly blurred.

He was laying on some kind of table, each arm and each leg strapped down. Dean couldn't move. He tried.

He looked around. It was a small room. Like it had been dug out of the side of a rock.

He saw another table, like a medical examiner's table. A tall man was lying unconscious. Hair obscuring his face. Arms and legs bound as Dean's were.

Dean realized immediately it was Sam.

Suddenly, everything became more than crystal clear.

Suddenly, he could feel the cold steel beneath him. He could feel the leather restraints around his ankles and his wrists. He could smell the dank air of what was obviously somewhere that was underground.

A primal instinct came over him. Dean yelled out. He yanked and pulled on those restraints with everything he had. He fought to free himself until he felt himself start bleeding as the restraints dug into his skin. He continued to fight with all of his strength against the bonds that bound him.

They did not budge, even against his struggle they held firm. He tried. Dean really, really tried.

He could feel what the effort had done to his skin. The wetness that must have been blood, trickling down each of his ankles. His wrists in no better shape.

Dean laid back, breathing hard from his efforts. His heartbeat pounding in his ears. Now starting to feel slightly childish. Overreacting wasn't going to help anyone or anything and he should know this by now.

He knew J was out there looking for them. He also knew this was not the way to solve any of his current problems. He could see that Sam was obviously breathing. He was just wasting time and causing unneeded, self-inflicted, pain.

Dean laid there and let his heart calm back down before calling out.

"Sam! Sammy, wake up!"

Dean only continued for a moment before he realized his efforts were for naught. Sam was poisoned and there was no waking him from his current position.

But he was breathing. Sammy was breathing. He was alive at least.

Then his mind went back to work. He went over what J had told him. Dean had to do this and do this right. He could, he just wasn't sure, or confident, that he could pull it off. Not under these circumstances. He shook off those bad feelings.

Concentrate. Breath. He was most open when driving. Let's see what he could do about that.

Dean relaxed as best he could and closed his eyes. Focusing on each breath he took.

In. And Out. Over and over and over.

More than once his mind wandered and he scolded himself. Even though he had never truly attempted this before. It had only just naturally happened. Dean had no idea what he was doing. But he was trying.

He imagined a two-lane highway stretching for miles in either direction. The sound of the Impala and the feel of the steering wheel in his hands. The smell of the air. The feel of the seat and the rumble of the engine.

He kept taking deep breaths. Concentrating. Trying to lose himself like he lost himself in those moments.

After some time of this, Dean felt himself fall into a semi-lucid state. This must have been what J had been talking about. This was like it was when he was pounding the pavement in the middle of nowhere.

'Well, here goes nothing.' Dean thought to himself as he concentrated.

Dean began calling out to J.

In his mind's eye, an image started to become clear. He was driving down a deserted highway, and she was riding shotgun.

This time her outfit was clean and free from any rips or tears. Except for her jeans, but they were supposed to be ripped and shredded like that.

J was leaning back in her seat, legs crossed. She was wearing an old band t-shirt. Some band Dean was not familiar with. But he didn't care. She looked absolutely amazing. He stopped calling out her name and just looked at her.

She was calm and completely at ease. Almost serene, carefree. With herself. With the world.

She was looking out the rolled-down window. Hair blowing around her face as she looked out into the night. Oblivious of Dean trying to get her attention. Arm out the window in the wind.

Dean just stared at her. He did not know for how long. Long enough to know he didn't need to keep his eyes on the road.

She leaned back, closing her eyes as she did. Smiling to herself. Her head fell to her shoulder, away from the window. Giving Dean an even better look at her face.

Her hair was still moving around her in the breeze of the open windows. In those natural beachy waves.

He looked and looked. He was being a glutton. He counted every freckle she had. Every breath she took. She had piercings and gauges he had outright missed until now. Her lower lip was pierced in the center. And she had gauges in both ears. Pretty substantial ones for him to have missed.

Three in one and two in the other. Dean recalled her uneven nipple jewelry and noticed and a theme. The memory eliciting certain feelings. The fire began returning.

Dean ignored the feelings. He just looked. For what felt like ages. He was not afraid of getting caught. He wasn't tired of just looking at her, so that was a good thing. She looked good riding his shotgun.

Sometime after Dean had started thinking about whether or not to reach his hand out to her, to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Or to touch her cheek and see if it was as soft as it looked. He heard a small noise that was different than anything he had heard recently. But it was still not unfamiliar.

It sounded again. Stronger this time. It was his name. It was her.

For the second time that day Dean awoke with a start. For the first time he woke up to dazzling duo-toned eyes inches from his. Saying his name.


	16. Chapter 16

_AUTHOR'S REQUEST!_

I'd like to know what you guys think so far. Please let me know in a review.

**If you have any questions about J, specifically from Dean and Sam's perspective, that have not been addressed and/or elaborated on, please also leave them in review. It would be amazing to get some questions from outside sources. Thank you!**

Hooray for character development. She can't remain a stranger forever, even thought she is no stranger to me.

* * *

**Chapter 16**

"Dean!? Dean. Wake up. Oh, thanks to the Gods." J left his field of vision almost as soon as she became clear. She had fallen to her knees next to his table.

"J!?" was all Dean was able to choke out. He strained his neck to see over the side. She held up and finger to him for silence without looking up from the floor.

Dean watched as she took several deep breaths. She had her backpack with her. It was on the ground next to her as she rested her elbow on her knee and her forehead on her hand. Her eyes were closed.

"Sorry, man. This has been mentally exhausting. I have been doing things I have only read about before. Give me a second."

"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere." Dean said sarcastically.

"Yeah, actually I will, thanks." She fired back. Looking up at him, eyes flashing.

Dean was taken aback by her response. Only Sammy ever reacted that way to any of his taunts. This was new. A challenge. And it caught him entirely off guard. And the fact that he was _still_ tied down was all but forgotten.

For a moment

"J, please." Was all Dean said.

J looked up again and stood up. Wavering slightly. Man, she wasn't kidding. She looked like shit. The most beautiful piece of shit Dean had ever seen. He was so happy to just see her again. Tot have her be physically near him again.

The fact of the situation compounded that feeling.

J steadied herself before she reached for Dean's wrists. She gasped at the sight of them.

And then she groaned.

"I was hoping this was just in your head. What did you do to yourself?" she sounded shocked, the look of genuine concern and worry on her face.

'What are you talking about?" Dean looked at her.

She finished undoing his wrists, then his ankles. Then she looked at the lacerations he had caused himself.

Dean looked down at his wrists and saw that it was not a pretty sight there either. He had done some real damage.

"Forget me, check Sam," Dean demanded.

J just looked up at him, pulling his pant leg back down to cover the cuts and friction burns.

She then went over to Sam and took a few minutes to examine him. "He's breathing. But he is not responding as he should be. I tried him first, then you. He may be deeper than we can wake him from. What I can wake him from."

As Dean rounded on her, she looked at him wide-eyed. "Well? Why don't you do your thing and wake him up as you did with me? Go into his mind and get him! What exactly are you waiting for!?"

Dean was shocked at not only his own tone but how he had just acted. And the fact that he did not actually want J anywhere inside of Sam's head. At all. He didn't want Sam knowing what it's like to have her inside of his head. He would rather she didn't.

But this was bigger than that. Dean knew he was being sophomoric about it. J looked at him and suddenly the fire in her eyes was pissed. And she was pissed at him. He almost recoiled physically at the look. He could almost feel her heated gaze.

When she spoke it was even, unemotional.

"Don't you dare speak to me in such a way, Dean Winchester. It is not that simple, and you know that. Yes, I can Dream Walk. Yes, I can do some weird shit with your mind. But your brother is not you. His mind does not work the same. There are a few things I can try to get him to wake up. I do have other ways. It is not like I won't try my damnedest to bring him back. Even if that means you carry him out and I do my thing AFTER we are not in immediate mortal danger. But I will not tolerate you treating me like that. I don't care what the circumstances are. I'll need you standing guard in case Fuckface comes back."

Before Dean could form an apology, she reached for her bag and opened it.

There was a wide array of items, most of which did not make any kind of sense at all.

First, there was that book that looked like Dad's Journal. Then were about half a dozen or so old toilet paper rolls that had what looked like wicks sticking out of one end. Looking like cartoon-like dynamite, but brown. There were spools of wire. A black box that had wires connecting to it. A wooden box with weird symbols all over it. As well as several clips of ammo and 2 guns. And it all had a strange smell to it.

J grabbed one of the handguns, cocked it, checked the chamber, and then handed it to Dean with an extra clip.

"Do not lose those. The bullets have been specially treated and will take out a Djinn. Or cause it some major pain and slow it the fuck down. Just aim for the head or heart. Now, these, these are a little different and you are going to have to trust me on them."

J looked back into her bag. Grabbing one of the toilet paper roll dynamite stick looking things.

"These are also of my own invention. They are just a compounded incense concoction that repels Djinn. Usually, the incense alone isn't enough to drive them away, but my blend is especially potent. It's fast burning. One of these babies only lets off smoke for about a minute or two, but it can fill a room in half that time. It can also be used as a smokescreen for quick escapes otherwise."

Dean just looked at her. He must have had a dumb expression on his face.

"What…?" was all she was able to say before Dean looked away and coughed, trying to hide the fact that he had been staring.

"Sorry, I am just not familiar with any of this. What are those bullets treated with?" he managed to say. Effectively changing the subject.

J went instantly back into work mode.

"You know that incense concoction there? The resin of burning said incense covers each bullet. Think Dead Man's Blood, but for Djinn."

Dean's mouth fell open. There was more than one way to fight a Djinn? Where had J learned all of this? Always with the _questions._

J turned back to her back and brought out a bandana she was soaking with a water bottle. She gave him the dampened bandana.

"For your wrists and ankles. Clean them up the best you can while I work on Sam." J said as she reached into her bag and grabbed the wood box with all the symbols and markings all over it.

She opened it and took out a little glass vial with a dropper stopper. She handed him the little glass vial. The hand-written label, in tiny handwriting Dean could barely see read "Angel's Water, Sapphire Infused/ RA"

"I want you to clean yourself up and then dab this on the affected areas. It will help at least until we can get to a proper first aid kit." J said as she continued to rummage through the box.

She pulled out a small tin and opened it to reveal some kind of salve. She dipped a finger into it and turned away from him, towards his little brother.

Dean watched J tilt Sam's head up and her hand lightly brushed the hair from his brother's face so she could rub this substance on his forehead in an invisible sigil. Dean felt a flash of jealousy.

Then a flash of pain as a dabbed at his own wounds. His averted gaze had made him sloppy.

Dean's eyes remained focused as he worked on the dried blood around his wrists and ankles. The wounds were superficial at best. They had looked a lot worse than they really were now that the dried blood was gone. They were rawer than anything.

He unstopped the bottle and dripped some of the liquid onto his abrasions. He hissed when he felt the burn. He brought it to his nose and sniffed it. The most prominent smell was rubbing alcohol. That must have been what the 'RA' on the label stood for.

After he was finished with his other ankle and each wrist, he looked over again and watched as J remained bent over Sam. Her eyes closed and her left hand on his forehead. She was talking quietly under her breath. Dean couldn't make out what she was saying.

As Dean watched J, her eyes flew open and she removed her hand from Sam's forehead. Looking at him intently. Obviously looking for some sign of life. Some sign that he was waking up.

They both stood silent for a few moments.

J seemed entirely unaware of Dean as she was focused on Sam.

"Shei e!" She whispered harshly to herself.

_Was that German?_

She was bent over his head now.

Dean looked closer and saw that J was whispering into Sam's ear. Her lips were moving incredibly fast. From what Dean could hear, it wasn't English.

She looked like she was concentrating as she spoke. Like she was reciting something rather than just talking to him.

After what felt like hours, but were just moments, Sam suddenly tried to sit upright and took a gasping breath.


	17. Chapter 17

_AUTHOR'S REQUEST!_

I'd like to know what you guys think so far. Please let me know in a review.

**If you have any questions about J, specifically from Dean and Sam's perspective, that have not been addressed and/or elaborated on, please also leave them in review. It would be amazing to get some questions from outside sources. Thank you!**

Hooray for character development. She can't remain a stranger forever, even thought she is no stranger to me.

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Sam screamed and pulled against his restraints. He was acting a lot like Dean had when he had first come to. Only Sam didn't seem coherent at all.

His screams only becoming louder and more feral. His attempts at escaping more and more frantic. His eyes bugging out. Unseeing.

"Dean. I need you to hold him down the best you can." J said as she jumped up onto the table, straddling Sam, putting her full weight on his chest and pinning his arms with her legs. She had somehow managed to get her hands on each of his shoulders.

Dean was only momentarily stunned at her lithe movements. Then the fact that she was straddling his brother in a very dominant way came occurred to him. He acted a lot quicker, at the last thought.

He quickly replaced his own body with J's. Her hands for his. Taking her place trying to hold Sam down.

He had not stopped fighting and no matter how loudly Dean called out to him; Sam didn't respond. Dean was beginning to get scared.

"Hold him down! I just need a second. That's all I need!" J scrambled off the floor, having rolled off Sam to let Dean on top.

J then grabbed Sam's head to still it's thrashing, too. She began whispering again, through Sam's screams. Into his ear as she held his head steady.

Dean couldn't make out what she was saying over Sam's screams. He was sure even Sam wasn't going to be able to hear her either.

Then J's eyes flew open. She screamed into his ear, "Ich befehle dir zu erwachen!" Her gaze alight with fire. With determination, with intention. She then stared into Sam's face as he became limp.

It took Dean off guard to see the amount of raw power she was embodying. He gaped. Then he remembered his main concern: Sam. He quickly jumped off of the table. No longer needing to restrain him. He was now concerned with the fact that Sam was _not _fighting. Now Dean was watching J.

"Sam. Sam can you hear me. Sam. Wake up. Wake up, hun. Come on, I know you can hear me. Wake up." J was saying to Sam. Her hands still on either side of his face. She tenderly caressed his cheek. Dean's stomach tightened nastily at the sight.

Like things weren't complicated enough.

_"Wake up." _She commanded in an almost hiss, eyes flashing. Literally, flashing. Dean saw it. He thought he even felt a pulse radiating from J herself as she spoke the command.

Sam's eyes flew open. He pulled at his restraints. But this time it was as if noticing them for the first time. He looked wildly around. From J to Dean. Nothing but questions filling his expression.

"What… the fuck…. is going on?" Sam managed to say, looking wildly around.

"I had to forcefully wake you from a Djinn poison-induced dream. It's not fun. On either end." J said, rather breathless.

Both brothers turned, as they only now realized that J had retreated to a corner and was sitting, leaning against the wall with her backpack. She looked rather pale. A light sheen of sweat on her skin.

Dean made to move towards J, but she held up a hand. She did not miss the look in his eyes.

"It's not fun on both ends. Remember. Give me a minute. Go untie your brother while I work on how to end this shit." J grabbed her bag and started rummaging again.

J took her minute as Dean filled Sam in on how she had Dream Walked. How she had gotten him to wake up. How she hadn't really explained much, if anything, about what had happened. Everything really had happened so quickly.

He left out the part on how he had led her here. All of the mind-reading, flexing, whatever, that part of it. Dean kept that to himself. The how J had managed to get _here,_ here. How she had managed to find both of them, in the first place. That was not entirely relevant for Sam to know, anyway.

And Sam wasn't asking. Which Dean was immensely thankful for. He knew the question would come up sooner or later, knowing Sam. He dreaded the thought of it, already.

Dean looked over at J and noticed she had started bringing out the toilet roll canister-looking things and some different spools of wire and had set to work with them and a small tool kit.

Sam told Dean about how he had called The Roadhouse for backup when Dean hadn't come back to the motel. Ellen had told him that J had already started driving more than a few hours before. No warning on where she was going or why. Just that she would be back, and to not wait up. Jo was out on her own hunt, so it was just the two of them at The Roadhouse.

Sam wondered aloud if she hadn't said anything about it on purpose.

Quoting what Ellen had said over the phone, to Dean. "'Yeah, that does sound like something she would do.' And I can see why. I highly doubt Ellen would have kept her mouth shut. She would have called us no matter what it was, had she known J left to come to meet me. Even knowing what we do about her premonitions. Particularly, with what happened last time." Sam gave Dean a poignant look. Dean gave Sam a Bitchface.

_Since when did Dean use Bitchfaces?_

"So that was when Ellen gave me her number and I called her. She told me she was only a few hours away at that point. So, we met up at the motel. She filled me in on what she knew. With what you and I had already found out, she managed to narrow down where he was keeping all of you _AND_ who he was." Sam continued. Not noticing Dean looking over his shoulder to see what J was up to in the corner.

"He must have heard us coming or something because he managed to get behind us. Put up quite the fight. But you obviously know how that ended. Now here we are."

"Yeah, that pretty much sums everything up. But we still don't know where this son of a bitch is, or when he will be back. Or even where _we_ are. Or how to get out." Dean said, somewhat stiffly.

J had just caught him staring.

She cleared her throat. "Okay boys, here's my plan. Have either of you ever worked with explosives at all?" J asked, with a very serious look on her face.

Dean saw her eyes flash again. A hint of the mischievous fire within.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Sam and Dean looked at each other. Their faces must have been carbon copies of each other when they looked back at J.

_"Explosives?!"_ They both said, at the same time.

"What the hell are you planning on blowing up?" Sam asked. Expression turning from one of some form of shock to one of genuine interest and intrigue. His eyebrows were threatening to get lost in that long hair of his, they were raised so high.

"Nothing, this time. This is more of a controlled smoke bombing. Think controlled demolition, but with the smoke bombs I made." J said indifferently. "I just need to make sure you two know what you're doing. Blasting caps can take off your fingers if you don't know how to handle them right. I cannot risk someone who is inexperienced. I can rig everything myself; it would just be faster and easier with more hands."

She looked back and forth between them, a slightly amused look on her face at their bemused expressions.

Sam and Dean looked at each other, again. This time they were both wholly perplexed. They were both versed in a multitude of different offensive and defensive techniques that proved themselves useful in the hunting and killing of monsters.

Most explosives, however, were not part of either of their repertoires.

They both looked back at J and they both shook their heads.

"_Really? _The Famous Winchester Brothers don't know anything about explosives? Wow, I am surprised. I'll have to teach you sometime." J raised her eyebrows and started packing up the canisters and bundles of wire carefully into her backpack.

"I have rigged these smoke bombs with blasting caps. They are already all connected. They just need to be set. I already have a system set in place where it connects to my phone wirelessly. We don't need to worry about any accidental detonations either. I have to put my pin number in, in order for the system to become fully active. Also, if one is accidentally triggered, the rest will not detonate without a system reset or my pin."

"What exactly is in these smoke bombs of yours?" Sam asked, cutting her off. "And when did you come up with such a complex system like this?"

J raised an eyebrow and cocked her head slightly to the side. A grin spreading across her face.

"Remember what Bobby did with a spare weekend? He built a Hunter's Panic Room. Well, it can be awhile between jobs for me. I have a lot of spare time on my hands. And Ash is amazing at making my ideas a technical reality. He is far better at the electronics and computer aspect of everything than I am, so he helps me. As for the smoke bombs, those are just made with my own blend of Wormwood, Tuareg, Benzoin, and other herbs. Djinn cannot stand the stuff. It's a severe irritant to them. The resin is even more effective as it's super concentrated. The same resin coats the bullets in the gun and clip I gave you." J looked at and motioned towards Dean, then to Sam. Freezing.

"Oh, shit! Sorry man, I almost forgot. I don't want to leave you unprotected." She said to Sam as she reached into her bag. Pulling out the secondhand gun, and an extra clip, handing them to him.

"These bullets are coated with the resin from these smoke bombs. They will slow him down long enough to get the jump on him. Think Dead Man's Blood, but for Djinn. Hurts like a bitch. Can be deadly in high enough doses. Or in the right places. Since we are aiming to destroy and not to torture, I suggest ya aim for the head or the heart, if you can. Get it over with."

Sam cocked the gun and checked the chamber to make sure his firearm was live. He nodded at J. she continued, back tracking slightly as she pulled her own sidearm from its holster on her thigh. Checking its chamber and clip.

"As for the smoke bombs themselves, like I said before I have a system set in place already. I just need to put everything in their actual places. I'm going to put a couple smoke bombs strategically through the cave system, starting at the entrance. I'll block off every way, except for the one that leads directly to this area. Once the bastard is in past the first one, I'll trigger the detonators, causing the smoke bombs to go off in sequence. He will be cut off from running out, so his only other option will be running in. The other smoke bombs will cut off any other escape route. Except for the one that runs straight in here."

Sam was surprised at how good a plan this was. It was technically sophisticated, yet fundamentally simple. Now even he was wondering about J and where she had acquired all of this knowledge.

Including the new ways to take the offense on Djinn. Before it was just the silver dagger dipped in lambs' blood or blunt force trauma to the head. The latter seems to work on most occasions, Djinn or not.

This incense thing was completely new and didn't seem entirely logical to Sam. But J was confident. More than, actually. Sam knew she knew what she was doing. And he trusted her. She had been right on her previous hunt, so who was he to say. He knew there was always more than one way to skin a cat, but this didn't seem like something a normal hunter would do.

Dean noticed the analytical look Sam was now giving J as she concluded explaining her plan. He knew he and his brother were both thinking along the same lines. Not knowing if this new way would work, but trusting J explicitly and without question, mostly, anyway.

"You guys wait in here. I'll go wait by the entrance for him to come back. Once he is in, I'll detonate the smoke bombs and send him your way. I will be close behind, so hold your fire until I am clear. I am actually hoping to get him before he even has a chance to get this far. You'll hear the detonations. They sound like very small gunshots or pops. Stay ready." J looked away sourly. She then grabbed her stuff and left.

Dean knew that look. He was very familiar with the feeling that accompanied it. The look of unfinished business. J didn't like that the Djinn had gotten the drop on her and Sam. And now it was personal that she takes care of it, and finish the job this time.

Sam and Dean had been waiting for about an hour. Dean knew that Sam was just itching to talk to him about something. But the threat of something happening any second kept him quiet. They were still working a job, after all.

Dean was thankful for the silence, even as heavy as it was. He had a lot going on in his head right now.

J was proving to be more and more of an enigma. Wrapped in an anomaly. As well as becoming more and more of an asset. Dean couldn't forget that he still had unfinished business with her. While the questions surrounding this woman kept mounting. More and more questions. Always with the questions. And any answers only led to more questions. Now Dean knew that Sam was also eager for some answers of his own.

Dean wanted answers, too. To all of the questions that he had found himself asking over the last week or so. Not knowing was becoming maddening. It was coming to a point where Dean did not know what he wanted more anymore: to find out what was up with this chick OR pursue with caution anyway. He knew he wanted to pursue, despite his hunter senses tingling.

He couldn't help himself when he went through the plan again. He was amazed at J's skills and technical know-how. Her ingenuity. Her MacGyvering skills had Dean speechless. Was there anything she couldn't do? Now Dean could understand some of the admiration Jo clearly had for J. It was obviously well-deserved.

Dean found himself strangely, and very strongly, attracted to this new person. But something about this new person also set him on guard, for some reason. He kept thinking back to his second dream. Where she had asked him if he thought that she as something to be hunted. He was starting to understand why she had asked. Maybe she had been right. Was she something that needed to be hunted? Was this their thing?

Dean's stomach twisted in extremely unpleasant knots at the thought of that being the case.

_No way._

He could not deny, however, that as more and more time went on, more and more things about J were not adding up, or were just odd. Not in _we shouldn't trust her _kind of way. More of _this is very different than anything we are used to_ kind of thing. Dean knew that J was a great hunter, but some of her methods were beyond his understanding. It was like they had the same job, but went about things in two totally different ways.

These ways may be new and different to Sam and Dean, but that did not mean they were wrong or deserved to be thought of as a danger. Just because it was hard to understand didn't mean they had to be ruthless, mindless killers. This was just something out of left field when they were right fielders. Dean silently scolded himself for thinking that way.

The more Dean wrestled with these thoughts the more he became inundated with questions and feelings that were clouding his judgment.

_"Keep your head in the game."_ He thought to himself, shaking his head to clear it.

J had checked the connections of the blasting caps several times now out of an OCD thing everyone always associated with her being a Virgo. She didn't think they were entirely wrong. She was German, and everyone knows how Germans like their _Ordnung. _And having that particular star sign with that bloodline didn't help her much. J was flexible, but even she would admit that she does like things a certain way.

After checking the entire system for the half dozenth time, ensuring all evidence of her work was hidden in plain sight. Hidden to anyone just walking through. The smoke bombs were finally all primed and ready. J got out her phone, running one last test on her app that controlled this whole operation.

_Green Light._

Everything was working. J entered her pin and the system was live. Just one last push of the button and the signal would be wirelessly sent to the charges, detonating each smoke bomb in sequence from the mouth of the mine, in towards Sam and Dean.

Just as J finished hiding her stuff in an offshoot of the mine, away from the smoke bombs, she heard a noise coming from outside. It sounded like footsteps from right outside of the mine's opening.

She silently ran along the wall, hiding in the shadows of an archway that lead to another offshoot of the mine. She crouched poised, phone in hand, ready. The archway was about 30 feet from the entrance, 10 feet away was J's first smoke bomb.

It was definitely that bartender. J could see the tribal markings on his arms Dean had missed because of the long-sleeved uniform the thing had been wearing the night before.

All he had to do was walk another 20 feet and she would set off the smoke bombs.

_Come on!_

_THERE!_

J pressed the Big Red Button on her screen and listened to the synchronized pops of her system working flawlessly. The Djinn looked up, eyes flashing electric blue.

He started running away from the first bomb, away from the entrance, straight at J. If everything went as planned, he would run right past her and she would heard him, like cattle for slaughter, right into the room where Sam and Dean were waiting.

J thought it only appropriate that they all get a chance to take out this one. He messed with every one of their heads.

Suddenly, the Djinn stopped, letting the smoke of the incense waft over him. He was in obvious discomfort, but his rage seemed to be one hell of a driver. He stopped and turned to stare J right in the eyes.

J was still standing in the shadows, ready, waiting. The Djinn now barely noticing the incense smoke, now. Their eyes locked.

Both sets of eyes flashing.

J smirked, she only saw the look of pure rage in his eyes for a split second before she raised her gun and fired.

In the distance, Dean heard a popping sound. He was so lost in thought he barely noticed it at all. It only registered with Dean that something was going down when Sam drew his gun and aimed it at the door.

As his thoughts of J left him, and the plan of attack came back to the forefront of his mind, he too followed Sam and leveled his gun at the entrance to the room.

Both Sam and Dean could now see the smoke from the smoke bombs now. Rolling into the room, undulating from the force of the various detonations.

Next, they heard three distinct gunshots.

Rapid-fire. 1, 2, 3.

Dean didn't hesitate.

He ran forward, gun still held level out in front of him.

"J!" he called out as he ran forward. "J! Answer me!"

Dean followed the smoke. Finding the areas where the smoke was the densest, knowing that was where she had placed a bomb. He used this method to find his way back through the cave systems various tunnels and off-shoots until he came close to the mouth of the mine.

He could feel a breeze and smell fresh air now amid the acrid smell of the smoke.

As Dean rounded another corner, he placed his finger on the trigger automatically for a moment before he lowered the gun completely. J was standing there. The Djinn was on the ground in front of her. Dean could see the opening of the mine some 40 feet ahead of them.

As J looked down upon the Djinn, Dean noticed a hole in his forehead. Dead center. It was emitting purple smoke, the same purple smoke as before. As were the other two bullet holes in his chest where the other two rounds had obviously penetrated.

She must have noticed him standing there. After another moment she turned around to face him. Her eyes flashed in triumph. "I think I got him." She said with a smirk on her face.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Sam was only a few seconds behind Dean in the race through the mine. Although, that moment where J turned to look back at Dean seemed to last an eternity. He wished it would not end so soon. Those eyes had caught him off guard. Again.

"Are you ok, J? Oh my God!" Sam began to say, and then continue to yell. First concerned with J, then suddenly very aware and concerned with her _and_ the dead Djinn at her feet.

While Sam went to inspect the Djinn to confirm J's kill, she and Dean exchanged another look. She just stood there, beaming at him. She was proud of herself; he could tell. And for some reason, he was extremely proud of her, too.

Dean smiled back at her.

"Well, he's definitely dead." Sam confirmed, awkwardly. He looked up between Dean and J, a questioning, yet knowing look on his face. He cleared his throat before continuing. "How do you suggest we get rid of the body?"

"Same as before. I still have some wood tar we can use to make Tar Water." J turned to look at Sam. "There should be enough for him."

"How are you feeling, big guy? And don't lie. I will know if you do." She looked genuinely concerned, now. With a hint of _don't mess with me right now. _J's eyes were so narrowed they were almost just slits.

Sam looked down at her, then up and away. He thought for a moment, looking off over her head. He cleared his throat again.

"I feel, ugh. I feel exhausted. Kind of like I've been sick for days and am only now regaining my strength. I guess that's the best way to put it. I don't feel terrible, but it doesn't feel good either." Sam concluded. Looking back down at J to see her response.

J reached up and put her hand against his forehead and brought Sam's face down so she could look him in the eyes better. "That is completely normal. Everything seems fine to me. I just put your subconscious through the wringer. I did things that were against the Natural Order. You will need a few days off to fully recover." She said as she released Sam's face from her hands.

"Headaches are normal. So are moments of dizziness or confusion. Now, if you start hearing or seeing things that are not there, or anything weirder than usual, you need to tell me right away. This is nothing for a normal MD. You have my number now so I expect to know as soon as you do. I mean that, Sam Winchester. Even if it's a while down the road, you need to let me know. Side effects of this kind can be quite lingering. And annoyingly very serious. Especially when left unchecked." She was looking at Sam with such force, even Dean recoiled slightly.

She was not messing around. Dean abruptly interrupted them.

"If I notice anything off, I'll be sure to let you know. Even if Moose here doesn't."

Sam scowled at Dean. He hated being called Moose.

"Thanks, Squirrel," Sam said under his breathe.

Just as much as Dean hated being called Squirrel. Dean returned the scowl with Bitchface force.

J just chuckled at the two brothers and their Battle of the Bitchfaces.

"Come on, boys. We have work to do and a mess still to clean up. By the looks of it we don't have much daylight left. And you two have a body to burn! Hop to it!" J clapped her hands together before she started heading back into the mine to start gathering up her things.

Back at the motel Sam, Dean, and J each flopped onto an available surface.

Sam collapsed onto the couch, Dean sat down on one of the beds, while J stage-dived onto the other. All three let out a collective groan. Another job was done.

There was a long silence. It was in no way awkward. No one wanted to fill it, as it did not need filling. All three of them needed it. They all needed to just sit there for a moment in silence. Not even their minds were moving, J was silently sure of that one.

After a while, Dean sighed loudly. Or at least it sounded loud after their extended period of shared silence.

"So, what's the plan?"

"I say we crash here for the night and drive back to The Roadhouse in the morning. All I want is a shower and sleep." Sam said. Looking like a real plan was the last thing he wanted at the moment.

"I recommend that, as a psychic professional. He needs his rest. And, fuck it, so do I. I call dibs on the first shower." J raised her arm up slightly from the bed as she said it, muffled by the pillow. She started to straightened up and stretched.

Dean watched every minute movement carefully. He couldn't look away even if he tried. Even after a pretty dirty hunt, all torn up and bloodstained, J was gorgeous. Maybe even more so with the rips and blood… Dean's mind trailed off on that thought.

_Dirty girl…_

Which caused J to look up at him, mid-stretch. She just looked at him and winked. Arching her back so, not only did Dean get a peek at the bottom of her tattoo, it popped loud enough to elicit a "Goddamn!" from Sam.

As J continued stretching, she said "I couldn't drive back to The Roadhouse right now even if I wanted to. I am way too tired. Waking Sam up from that dream was enough to take out even the most seasoned of us. Djinn poison is some serious shit. Mojo I've never worked with outside of my books. I don't mind taking the couch, either. It would still be better than the back of my car, that's for sure." J said, trailing off as she grabbed her bag.

"You two like Jazz for the next 20 to 30 minutes. Deal with it." She added sarcastically as she walked over to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Dean could hear the water turn on. Then the music started playing.

J must have a portable Bluetooth speaker, what was unmistakably Jazz was now coming from the little bathroom. Rather loudly. She must have had it loud enough to fill the space as it was rather unmuffled by the door.

"At least she has good taste in music," Sam said with a small grin. He closed his eyes and laid back onto the couch. Enjoying the music coming from the bathroom, just waiting for his turn at the shower.

Dean was sitting on the bed closest to the bathroom. He heard something just under the music. J was humming her own little tune to herself, to the tune and rhythm of the music. He was surprised he was able to hear it. These walls were really thin.

It occurred to Dean that Sam was entirely too far away, over on the couch, to hear J humming as subtly as she was. He too leaned back, fully onto the bed.

Dean laid there and just listened to the sound of her voice. Like the Jazz, there were no words, but it was wonderful either way. Words were not necessary.

Her voice was a soothing salve to Dean's frayed nerves.

He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until Sam woke him up with a towel in his hair.

"Wake up, man. It's your turn to shower. You can finish sleeping after. You will thank me later." Sam said.

Dean scowled at Sam while getting a pillow ready to be launched at his face for waking him up.

"There's still hot water!" Sam said brightly, arm raised and hand raised up to block an oncoming projectile pillow.

The thought of even just a warm shower did sound inviting. As Dean grabbed his bag to head to the bathroom, he caught sight of the couch. Then he entirely glanced over.

J was curled up, fast asleep, with a stolen pillow and sheet from one, or both, of their beds. Her dark wet hair was fanned out onto the pillow and around her. She was so curled up into herself, Dean would have never guessed she was as tall as she really was. She was taking up so little space on the couch he could have easily sat next to her and not disturbed her. That must not be comfortable.

Maybe he was just used to his Moose of a brother. He thought about walking over and gathering her up and just putting her on his bed. If she stayed like that, they could share the bed, easily. Better than the couch at least.

The tightening he felt in the pit of his stomach told him to think better of it. For now, at least, he would ignore those impulses. Ignore that he had even had them. For now, Dean just needed to ignore everything he was feeling about J.

Dean couldn't help it. The thought still made him smile. He smiled to himself at the thought of gathering her up, pillow, sheet, and all. Of her staying asleep. Of her waking up. Of her waking up and throwing a little fit at being manhandled. The thoughts carried him through his shower and back to bed.

He really did try to ignore all of them.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

The next morning Dean woke up first, again. It was still dark out; it was still utterly too early. He couldn't see any daylight behind the curtains of the window, just the glow from a streetlight outside. He sighed to himself and rolled over, hoping that he would just drift back off for a few more hours. He threw his arm over his eyes.

This morning he wasn't as skilled at evading consciousness as he usually was. He sighed again, removing his arm from his over his eyes after finally coming to terms with the fact that he would not be going back to sleep again that morning.

He glared at the obligatory standard cheap alarm clock on the nightstand. 4:22 am.

_"There is no way in hell I'm getting up yet."_ He thought to himself, now pissed that he was even awake.

He looked around the still-dark motel room. Taking in the details as everything became less and less fuzzy around the edges.

His behemoth of a brother was in the bed across from him, he was just a hulking form under the blanket, and a mop of hair on the pillow. You could just see his chest moving slowly up and down with the slow rhythm of his breathing.

Then Dean remembered that there was a third person in the room with them this time. He sat up slightly and looked over at the tiny couch by the TV.

She definitely was not as balled up as before, and the sheet lay abandoned on the floor, but her knees were still up near her chin. Her hair, now dry, lay in Mega Waves all around her sleeping frame. It was also partially covering her face, obscuring it from his view. She had her arm bent under her head where her pillow had been. She was now hugging it to her chest.

Although she had relaxed a great deal from her tightly balled position he had remembered before he went to bed, she still took up such little room. It amazed Dean how it was physically possible for someone of her height, and whether or not she would be sore at all in the morning.

Dean reached behind him and roughed up his pillows a bit to get more comfortable. And to also elevate his head so he could have a clear view of the couch in his covert laying position.

Dean relaxed back into his pillow, looking over at J's sleeping figure. It was quiet enough right now that he could hear both her and Sam's slow and steady breathing if he concentrated hard enough. Dean locked on to one of the breaths, the one he didn't recognize, and listened.

He could see from here that her lips were slightly parted. Dean also noticed that there was a slightly pained look on her face, mostly around her eyes. Her eyebrows were furrowed. Even though J's eyes were closed, he could tell they would have a deeply tortured look in them if they were open.

She had assured him, multiple times, that she was just fine the night before. Dean had inquired, many times, the night before. Now he was less inclined to believe her.

Dean wondered if she had lied to him before. He also wondered why she was clutching the pillow so tightly to her chest. Clinging to it like it was a matter of life or death.

Was this normal? Dean felt better at the thought. Then worse at the same thought the more he contemplated it. She was ok, but she wasn't ok. That much was clear. He wondered how deep her pain ran. He had seen hints of it before now.

_"Story of my life."_ Dean thought to himself. Once again proving Dean Winchester and Self-Loathing were synonymous.

As he looked, she brought a hand up to her face and brushed her hair from it. The pained expression now was gone. As if swept away with the hair by her hand.

The hand that had brushed the hair aside now rested right under her chin, next to her elbow. Dean recalled a thought from the previous night. Of scooping J up and bringing her to bed. A proper bed.

Dean then realized something. He was happy that J was there. Not just that she had shown up and saved both of their asses, but that she was actually physically there. What had been bugging him so badly was that he had heard hide nor hair from her after the night they left The Roadhouse.

And he hated every minute of it.

Now that she was actually there did he realize how much he had missed her. Even his dreams hadn't been the same. Dean was also left with the fact that he had no way of reaching out to her, even if he had really wanted to. Which he had. But that would involve including a third party, which he did not want to do. He wanted her number, but he was not that desperate.

His pride had gotten in the way again. He had taken her absence personally, Dean then realized. All she had done was going about her life and let him go about his. She had just kept to herself. Like she had before they had met. Like it should be. He looked upon her, soundly sleeping.

Now Dean felt butt-hurt that she hadn't been around. Not even in his dreams, any more. The more he thought the more of he felt like a child for feeling that way. He wanted her to visit his dreams again. He wanted that very much. But J was right. It was an invasion of his privacy, and to just show up in someone's dreams _should _be considered rude as fuck. Even though he personally felt the opposite.

The logic and reason were starting to slap Dean in the face as he watched her sleep. Of course, she wouldn't just barge into his life. Had he shown any real interest in her outside of his dreams? Had she shown interest in him? In his dreams and otherwise? Had she given him plenty of chances? Had she not made it clear she approved of any advances?

The lump grew in his throat at the thoughts of each of these questions and their answers. He knew perfectly well she had given him the green light, the go-ahead, and he had not taken it. Like a fool he had just been suppressing everything, hoping it would just go away.

Trying to ignore everything. Pretending it was nothing.

And now it felt like he might lose out on this the opportunity that was presenting itself in the form of a woman.

Now that J was around again, Dean could feel how much he had really missed her presence. The fact that she had not reached out to him since the second dream, days and days, an eternity ago, still stung. He wanted her around.

More importantly, he wanted her to want to be around.

He wanted her to have him on his mind as often as she was on his. This was more of a complication than Dean ever could have imagined. Wanting to have sex with a coworker is one thing. This was a whole new issue entirely.

Dean was famous for hitting it and quitting it. He wanted to do all the dirty, nasty things with, and to her. He also found that he could not ignore the fact that he wanted to be the thing she was currently clinging so tightly to. The reason the pain in her face vanished.

Dean laid in bed, semi-conscious for about another hour before Sam started to stir.

Rather than taking this opportunity to get up, he pretended to still be asleep as Sam crept around the room, getting his bag and things before heading to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

As soon as Dean heard the water turn on and was sure that Sam was not coming out for a little bit, he opened his eyes. He readjusted his angle again so he could see J across the room.

She was still curled up. Dean wanted to go over there and physically undo her limbs. There was no way in hell that was comfortable.

Dean must have laid there openly staring for many minutes. As he watched J started to stir slightly. He was only slightly afraid that his staring had caused her unease. Even in sleep.

She just adjusted slightly, flipped her hair away from her face and neck, and slept on.

Dean's eyes traced her now exposed neck. He thought of kissing it. Wondering if that would wake her up or not. If it would take more to wake her up, or less as it did with him most times out of ten. Then again you couldn't breathe funny around Dean without waking him up.

His eyes rested on her face. She looked quite serene now. Oblivious. Non-troubled. None of the earlier pain that he had seen was present, though he highly doubted that is was gone. He would call himself an expert in that particular area.

Dean heard the shower water turn off in the bathroom and quickly returned to his sleep-like pose.

Sam took a few more minutes in the bathroom before he crept out and put his shoes on. He grabbed Dean's keys and left. Dean guessed for breakfast and coffee.

Dean heard Baby purr to life outside and leave the parking lot. He finally allowed himself to wake up. He sat up and started stretching. Glad to be alone. For the most part.

By now the sun had risen enough to send a beam of light through the shitty curtains they had left half-closed the night before. The shaft of sunlight illuminating the entire room with its strength. And it was landing directly on the couch. Right where J lay sleeping.

Dean was struck dumb for a second when he looked closer now that he was sitting up. She seemed to almost glow in the early morning sun. Her hair was shining like some kind of commercial. She was giving Sammy a run for his money in the amazing hair department, and J was still fast asleep.

There was also a new detail that Dean had never noticed before. In the sunlight, J's hair was unmistakably red.

He saw all tones of brown he could think of. And a fair amount of red that had gone previously unnoticed. Dean got up out of bed and padded over to his bag. Eyes never leaving J's face, but ready to look away if she were to wake up. The sun _was_ shining right in her face after all.

He reluctantly wrenched his eyes off of her as Dean grabbed his bag and headed to the bathroom to get ready before Sam came back. He made sure to keep as quiet as Sam had earlier. He didn't want to wake J up.

She really was fucking cute when she was asleep and he personally did not want to be responsible for waking his Sleeping Beauty.

"I'm not going to wake her up! You wake her up!" Dean whispered harshly to Sam later that morning.

"Fine. But I'll tell her it was your fault her coffee almost went cold." Sam turned to the couch. He reached out and put his hand on J's shoulder to gently shake her awake. Dean was about to realize that it had been a good idea to forfeit the job of waking J up.

The next thing he knew, Sam was face down, on the floor. Dean was laughing and J was swearing to herself.

"OH MY GOD SAM I AM SO SORRY!" J almost screamed as she went to help him up, having been the reason he was face down on the floor to begin with.

Sam had managed to wake J up, alright. She had then grabbed the arm he had reached out, pulled him down to the floor by it, and pulled herself on top of him on his way down. Pinning him down to the floor, with said arm held up behind his back.

Dean had never seen his brother move so fast before. He had also never seen anyone use a move like that before. It was like causing a controlled fall. Sam was lucky he had one other hand free that he was able to help to keep his pretty face from smashing into the floor.

Falling with style…

Dean was in tears with laughter now. J was apologizing profusely to Sam. Sam was still on the floor, dazed. Dean couldn't breathe.

It took everyone a moment to gather themselves.

"I am _SO _sorry again, Sam. It was a reflex. I didn't know who it was, just that there was a big dude lurking over me and waking me up." She said lamely into her almost empty coffee cup.

"J, seriously. You can stop apologizing. Do you know how many times this one had pulled guns on people? On me?" Sam said as he thumbed in Dean's direction. Dean looked affronted. Then he looked up and then shrugged in agreement as a grin spread across his face. He could not deny this particular accusation.

The laugh he got out of J was worth it. She sighed, she still looked extremely tired. She looked worn and weathered to Dean. It alarmed him how suddenly this new facade had popped up.

"J, are you ok? I mean no offense, but you look like you feel like shit." Dean said hesitantly. He had been on the receiving end of a woman who has mistaken what he meant by such comments in the past.

J shocked him again. She simply smiled and looked at him. She looked years older than she really was for the moment she looked tiredly up at Dean.

"I'm just beyond tired, Dean. When I said I had done things I had only read about before, that was all true. This is something for more experienced" she paused awkwardly for a moment; it did not escape Dean's notice. "Professionals. Things like this take its toll, only more so because I'm a n00b."

J put her now empty coffee cup in the trash and flopped back onto the couch where she had been sleeping. Dean noticed she did not seem to be at all sore from sleeping as she had been.

"I actually think I'm going to stay here one more night and let you guys go on ahead of me, so I can go back to bed. I need to recover. Sam seems to be fairing a lot better than me, I am not worried about him, so do not worry about him." She said at the look on Dean's face.

"Hey! I feel fine thank you very much!" Sam interjected defensively. "Maybe a little more tired than usual, but nothing weird or out of our ordinary," Sam said more to J than to Dean.

"Remember, if that changes, I expect to hear from you, Mr." J inclined her head towards Sam.

"Yes, Ma'am," Sam said somewhat seriously, but still flatly. He gave a half-heart salute in J's direction.

J smirked at this and chuckled, leaning her head back on the couch. Her eyes closed and she sighed, obviously worn out.

"Why don't you let Sam drive your car and you can crash in the back of the Impala?" Dean found himself saying abruptly, and without thinking.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

J opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at Dean with a complicated expression on her face.

"What are you suggesting, Dean?" J asked smoothly. Evenly. She was being tactful and careful with what she was saying. That much was obvious. Dean got goosebumps as an electric shock went down his spine at the sound of his name, and the fact that she was staring into his soul again, but he ignored all of it.

"I mean, why don't we stick together? This room was only paid for through last night, anyway. If I trust Sam with Baby, I trust him to drive whatever car you drive, not saying that you should trust him, but I do. And whatever car you drive probably doesn't have as big of a backseat as Baby does. You said so yourself that that couch would be better than your backseat last night. I promise you'll be more comfortable in the back of her than in your car." Dean rambled on for a moment. He had a slight deer-in-headlights look about him as he spoke rather nervously.

Sam looked at his brother with an open mouth. Eyebrows knitted together in shock and concern. Wondering what the hell was happening and why exactly Dean was volunteering him to drive all day. To drive J's car all day, across state lines, back to The Roadhouse.

Sam tried to catch Dean's eye, but he was avoiding all eye contact with him like the plague. He was intent on J, effectively ignoring Sam.

J sat there for a few minutes, contemplating what Dean had said, while Sam overtly tried to catch his eye. She looked from one brother to the other several times. Dean couldn't tell what she was thinking or what she even thought of the whole idea. Nor what she was going to say next.

Sam was too busy staring Dean down, yes, he had could feel Sam's eyes that were practically melting his very being, but he did not care. Not one bit. All he cared about were those duo-toned eyes that were now on him. Whatever Sam was throwing at him was nothing compared to J.

Dean felt his face get hot under her gaze the longer she looked. But he would not look away. He could feel Sam's eyes boring into him still, trying to catch his attention. Not going there right now either. J needed to say something.

_"Say something, already!"_

"Touché, Winchester." J looked from Dean to Sam now. "Sam, what are your thoughts on this? I'm not about to let Dean here volunteer you without your consent."

Dean was now the one that was staring at Sam, willing him to just glance at him so he could at least try to convey something to his brother. Communicate his intentions in some way.

The tables had turned and Dean was almost as desperate as to physically grab and get his brother's attention.

_"Come on, Sammy. LOOK AT ME."_ Dean screamed in his head in Sam's general direction. Sam looked at Dean for a split second before he answered J. Dean unable to read the look in Sam's eyes.

"I don't mind. I can see that you need to rest, but it's probably easier for you this way. Just show me how to connect my phone to your Bluetooth and it will be fine." Sam gave Dean _A Look._

Sam was not about to be easily placated, that much Dean was sure of. He knew how Sam was when it came to keeping information from him. He was going to have some explaining to do, later.

Dean just looked down and away from Sam. This was all turning out to be a lot more difficult and complicated than he would ever have imagined. How was he expected to start making sense of all this? He hadn't even come to terms himself with whatever was happening with him and J.

If there was really anything, to begin with.

Now Dean was getting Sam involved and that never ended well for Dean.

Dean thought about the interrogation he would receive the next time it was just the two of them again. Shivers ran down his spine again, this time for scarier reasons. His nosy little brother being one of them. Admitting all of this to him, even himself, was another.

J sighed again. "Awesome. Then I guess you two are just waiting on me. Give me 10 minutes, 15 tops, and I'll be ready to head out."

She turned to Sam, "I'll give you some cash for gas, food, and some extra for your trouble. No ifs ands or buts about it. I don't want to hear it. It's my car."

Sam shrugged, then sat back on the couch to wait. He was giving Dean another Look. Sam was about to pounce.

J gathered her things and headed into the bathroom.

Sam was waiting, eyes on Dean. Oh, lord. Dean was in for it. He could tell by the look in his brother's eyes. As soon as they heard the sink running Sam was in on him.

"Alright, dude. Spill. You owe me that much. What's going on between you and J?" Sam smirked and narrowed his eyes at his big brother. He knew full well what was going on here. Or what was more than likely going on here.

He just wanted Dean to say it out loud. To make it that much more real for him. If Dean would even admit to anything, which he usually never did.

Dean had been driving Sam up the wall with his pitiful attempts at avoidance. It was about time something cracked. Sam had been watching J and Dean dance around each other since Day One back at The Roadhouse. Enough was enough. It's time they dealt with each other.

One way or another.

Sam just looked at his brother while a whole slew of emotions ran across his features. One emotion caught Sam's attention at once: Fear. Dean was scared.

Sam's concern for Dean grew as he watched the fear and pain play across his brother's face. Pain was something Sam was used to seeing in Dean's eyes. It was just as much a part of him as anything else.

The fear he now saw set Sam on edge. Dean was never scared or afraid. Of anything. If he was, he certainly did his best to never show it. At least he kept it away from Sam. He always did take the role of Big Brother seriously. And being the older brother, that kind of came with the territory.

Dean wasn't doing anything to hide it now and Sam was becoming tremendously worried about him. About this whole situation. All this boxing up and ignoring, holding back and avoiding was making both Sam and Dean's life a living hell.

Dean obviously cared for this new woman and he was in every way conflicted by it. As to why Sam had no clue. He did not need to know. He just knew that in the end, Dean's conflict was the root of his current issues.

Even if Dean had yet to come to this conclusion himself. Sam knew he eventually would. He just wasn't about to sit by idly as Dean took his sweet time coming to the conclusions he needed to come to. Without some help, he was doomed to only realize it after it was too late.

Like had become custom for them over the years. Sam was determined not to let Dean down like that. Not now. Not when he so clearly saw what Dean failed to see. He needed to at least try and get this particular ball rolling.

Dean just sat there as Sam watched him; staring at the wall opposite him for what felt like a very long time before he even so much as looked back at Sam. Let alone speak. And when he did, he decided to play stupid and deflect.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sammy. What is there to spill? You must be imagining things." Dean said. Even he could hear the hollow, false notes in his voice. He half-heartedly tried laughing it off. Even that fell flat.

Dean certainly would not have believed himself, why should he expect Sam to? His little brother was anything but stupid. He knew Sam could see right through him. Through this whole thing. Whatever it was. He was considered to be The Brains of the two. Dean always knew that.

Sam just leveled his gaze at Dean. His eyes softening as he gave Dean another Look. Still not saying a word. He crossed his arms. Apparently ready to keep waiting for a proper response. He could see the worry behind Sam's eyes. It didn't look like Dean was going to be getting out of this one easily.

They both sighed in frustration.

Dean floundered for a minute longer. He was having a hard-enough time admitting all of this to himself and dealing with it properly. Both of which he was not doing… He didn't need to add trying to explain it to Sam on top of everything. He couldn't even form full and coherent thoughts about most of it. He had kept himself from doing so this whole time.

Dean was regretting that decision now.

He looked at Sam for a long moment before speaking. Sam could tell this was a lot harder for Dean than he was letting on. He was trying to hide it. Sam could see it in the semi-pleading look his brother was now giving him. Obviously wrestling with himself and what to say, wishing Sam could just know. Without having to explain. With words.

Sam hated seeing Dean this way. So conflicted. Dean was a man who fought his battles silently. He was also incredibly stubborn about it. He brooded and chewed on things for days, weeks. Sometimes even longer. Always silently. But he was anything but covert about it. Sam was one of the only ones able to get to him when he wouldn't admit that the battle was too much for him. He was hoping they had gotten to this place where even Dean had to admit it was too much now.

In the end, Dean kept it simple. He talked quickly, wanting to get it out and over with as soon as humanly possible. Like a Band-Aid. This was almost starting to physically hurt.

"Sam, I think I like her. I think. I think I really like her. I know she digs me. I don't know, man. This is all so fucked up. There's a lot more to it than you know. More than I'm willing to, or able to, explain. There is something different about her and that scares me as much as it attracts me." Dean paused. Quickly taking a shaky breath before continuing.

"Just, please, Sammy. I don't want to just leave her here, and I don't want to force her to drive all day either. You know I'm right about the back seat of the Impala, though. She said last night that the couch was better than her backseat. And even your gargantuan ass has crashed back there. I want to make sure she's comfortable. She did save both of our asses."

Sam's expression softened, "It's about time you do something about it. You have been bugging the hell out of me for days in your sad state of denial. What better time than when she wakes up? She can't sleep the whole way there."

Dean froze and his completion got a few shades whiter at that realization. He had not thought about what would happen when she woke up.

"And yeah, I know what you mean about the Impala. It would be a lot better for her than the back of her little thing. If I can sleep back there, she will be more than comfortable." Sam continued as nothing had happened.

"What does she drive?" Dean asked absently, trying to change the subject both of the conversation and of his newfound fear of the drive ahead.

"Corolla. Newer. New enough to have Bluetooth anyway." Sam responded.

Dean started chuckling to himself. "Yeah, that POS has a tiny back seat. I can only imagine you in that clown car. Can you even fit!?" Dean barked out in a laugh.

"No wonder she sleeps in a ball like she does. She must be used to sleeping in the back. I can tell you one thing; Baby has more room for junk in her trunk than some _Toyota._"

The door to the bathroom opened revealing a half-dressed J, with a toothbrush in her hand that she was now pointing at Dean.

"Watch your mouth, boy. I can fit a dozen bodies in that trunk. Even with everything I already have back there. Question! Have you ever drifted in that boat of yours? What exactly is the gas mileage on that monster anyway?" She barely gave pause. "That's what I thought." She smirked at his stunned silence, turned on her heel, and headed back into the bathroom. Closing the door behind her.

What struck Dean was _not _what J had said, although Sam was hunched over on the couch laughing about it. Wheezing would actually be a more apt description.

No, it was the ripped jeans J had been wearing that were hugging her hips so perfectly. And the plain black bra she had had on. She had not been wearing a t-shirt when she opened the door to respond.

The image of her so scantily clad was currently seared into his mind and he loved everything about it. He could now hear her softly laughing to herself on the other side of the door. She was probably laughing at the real reason he had been so shocked rather than Sam's taunts.

"Man, she told you, bro," Sam said breathlessly as he wiped his eyes of tears.

"You just cannot beat a classic, Sammy. Nothing can." Dean smirked. Then towards the closed bathroom door, he said a little louder, "I'd like to go toe to toe with you and your plastic toy in a fender bender. Then we will see who is laughing, sweetheart." Dean said with as much sarcasm as he could muster as the bathroom door opened again.

This time J was wearing a shirt. Dean gulped. A lump in his throat appearing out of nowhere. She was wearing a metal festival t-shirt. It was old, faded, and very worn. Her wavy hair down was down around her shoulders. She looked a lot like she had in his meditative dream back in the mine.

Dean thought about when it had been just her and him in the Impala for that short while. Even if it had been some kind of a daydream. It was still one of the best daydreams he had ever remembered having.

J was busy piling her hair on top of her head in a messy bun as she walked across the room. Her eyes flew over to Dean, meeting his gaze. They were flashing again. She had worn this on purpose, Dean suddenly grasped. There was no way it was a coincidence. He didn't believe in coincidences. Not in this line of work, anyway.

J dropped her stuff on Sam's bed and began going through her bag, taking things out and putting things back.

"You, boys ready? I am starving and tired as fuck. Let's get something to eat and head out on the road. I'll try to stay awake as long as possible, I promise. Hopefully through breakfast." J said as she finished fixing her bag onto her shoulder, ready to lead the way.

A little while later, the three were on their way out of town. They stopped back into Lou's Diner for some breakfast since it was familiar.

This time, J was with them. Dean could see the dark circles under her eyes, even as she talked adamantly with Sam about Djinn as they sat down at the table. The fire in them was still there, alive, albeit subdued.

He hadn't gotten a close look at her yet this morning. He was taking this opportunity while he had it. She had ridden with Sam in her car to help him get situated for the long drive and they seemed to be continuing a conversation that had started on the ride over.

He was too busy looking at J, who was sitting next to Sam across from him, to realize that the waitress was at his side, waiting to take his drink order. She just stood there and he did not notice.

She stood there for a moment longer, then cleared her throat to get his attention. Dean noticed J had stopped and was looking at the waitress now. The looks in J's eyes were scary-cold. Only then did Dean look up in surprise at the person whom J was directing this ferocious look towards.

His blood ran colder than J's eyes.

Dean was looking up at none other than that redhead from the restaurant bar. Audrey.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

"Hi, Audrey! How are you?" Dean asked quickly, his voice wavering slightly. He was thankful it hadn't cracked. That would have been embarrassing.

_LIKE THIS WASN'T!?_ he thought to himself, hoping his face would not betray the fact that this was the last person he wanted to run into.

"I'm doing pretty damn good, sugar. Especially now that you're here. What brings you around these parts this early?" Audrey purred, putting a hand on Dean's shoulder. Batting her eyelash extensions at him.

"We're heading out of town on family business. Audrey, this is my brother, Sam, and our friend J." Dean nearly stumbled on his words, almost losing it at the end when he remembered J was with them. He was having trouble getting on better footing. It was too early for this shit.

Dean needed more coffee.

"Hi, ya'll. So, what can I get you this morning?" Audrey asked distractedly, hand still on Dean's shoulder. Her question may have been directed at the group, but it was clear Dean was all she really cared about.

She then looked at Sam, recognition on her face, "You must have been the one with the car troubles. Hope all is well." Audrey said optimistically, now stroking Dean's shoulder. Dean wanted to shrug her off, but he resisted the action.

"Oh, yeah! No big deal. Just a dead battery." He gave Dean A Look while he ordered, "I'll have a coffee, cream, and sugar, please." Sam said, tilting his head to the side as he watched Audrey eye his brother like some kind of piece of meat.

Sam felt the silent irony. For once Dean was on the receiving end of this kind of treatment. It did not look like it was going over very well.

"I'll have the same," Dean said, coughing awkwardly, looking and leaning away from Audrey. He was feeling rather awkward at her brazenness in front of everyone. Then he saw the expression on J's face out of the corner of his eye as she ordered.

"Coffee. Black." J snapped flatly.

'If looks could kill' didn't come close to the expression on J's face. Her eyes were fireballs that had succeeded in hardening. Her gaze should have frozen Audrey where she stood, then liquefied her into a molten mess. But the redhead was none the wiser.

Or at least Dean thought she should at the very least be able to feel J looking at her like that. Like what he felt whenever J was intent on him. Audrey was either oblivious or didn't care. Dean figured it was probably a bit of both since now both Sam and J were staring openly.

"I'll be right back with your drinks. Don't go anywhere." Audrey said to pretty much just Dean. She winked at him, squeezing his arm one last time and walked away.

More like sauntered away. She was trying way too hard. It was almost comical. Dean chanced another look at J out of his peripheral vision. Trying to get a read on her this time. She was watching Audrey walk away over Sam's shoulder. An expression on her face that Dean couldn't read.

All Dean knew was he did not want to be on the receiving end of whatever J had to dish out. She was positively terrifying mere moments ago. With the look he had caught on J's face; Dean knew he never wanted her to look at him in such ways. Or be the reason she looked that way.

He now found himself slightly more intrigued.

_"Well, certain things… and certain ways… considered." _Dean thought to himself as he thought of being on the receiving end. It was hot how this other woman's attention seemed to bother J. It appeared to make her livid. Dean liked the thought of J against this Audrey chick.

_"Who am I kidding? Redhead had no chance. J would lay her out in seconds." _Dean bit his bottom lip at the thought and chanced a look at J.

J then looked back to the table, back at Dean. Their eyes locked and Dean saw the fire in them again. She was on another mission. Dean was undeniably captivated. His lip was hurting with how hard he was biting it, so he released it after realizing what he was subconsciously doing.

The expression on J's face turned to one that Dean had seen before: Mischievousness. A smirk was forming on her face, now as she turned to Sam. Continuing their conversation on Djinn.

Dean was amazed at how quickly J managed to change. One minute she was a force to be reckoned with. The next she was just as laid back as him or Sam like nothing had ever happened. Then smirking at him like what she was thinking was very, very pleasing to her.

Just smirking at him like that, period, should be a crime.

Dean then caught Audrey's hungry stare over Sam and J's shoulders. She was basically eye-fucking him from across the diner, and more than one person had taken notice. Not just Dean. Or J or Sam. He immediately shrank into the booth.

The smirk on J's face was gone. Now there was no mistaking the pure fury returning to her eyes as she watched Dean shrivel into himself. She turned around to see what had caused Dean's actions.

Dean was more than uncomfortable with the fact that Audrey would not stop eyeing him from wherever in the diner she was. This behavior continued as Audrey helped a few other people and refilled some more drinks around the diner. She seemed to have no regard for whom she was serving or talking to. He could feel her eyes on him and it made his skin crawl.

Dean, thankfully, kept getting distracted by J, who was now busy covertly watching every move Audrey made. Intent on her like a cat intent on its prey. Watching. Waiting. If Dean had not been paying attention to J as closely as he was, he wouldn't have noticed. Sam certainly hadn't as they had since resumed their conversion.

He was very thankful for J's presence right now and he had no idea exactly why. As Dean watched J watch Audrey, he could feel Audrey's eyes on him again. J's eyes narrowed to slits as they watched Audrey with her eyes on Dean. This was one awkward triangle.

Dean could see that there was a new look in J's eye, a feeling about her, that made her seem dangerous. J was not pleased, that much was abundantly clear.

Audrey came back with their drink orders and took their food orders in the same fashion as earlier. Still with her hands all over Dean, and pretty much still ignoring both Sam and J almost entirely. Sam wasn't even sure she was going to get their orders right; she was so preoccupied.

Once Audrey had taken their orders and walked back behind the lunch bar, J spoke up.

"Excuse me, Sam. I need to wash my hands." J said, smiling sweetly at him, grabbing her bag.

Dean realized that he would now be alone with Sam for at least a few minutes.

The panic started to set it.

"Sure thing." Sam said as he got up out of the booth to let her scoot over and out before he sat back down. J walked off, after Audrey, towards the bathrooms. Sam's eyes never left Dean's. The shadows of the questions flickering across them.

"That Audrey is sure friendly... Speaking of which, I never did ask you what happened between me leaving the restaurant that night and when you got picked up by that Djinn. So, what happened?" Sam asked expectantly, leaning over the table slightly. His eyes were wide with excitement.

Apparently, Audrey's enthusiasm had sparked Sam's interest. Like there was some epic story he had missed out on. It was hard not to notice. Sometimes hunting did get a bit dull. So, Samantha wanted gossip. Dean was _so_ enthused. He actively rolled his eyes.

"Well, I drank a few beers. Chatted her up at the bar for a bit while drinking another beer or two. Then I made some lame excuse and left. She gave me her number, but I obviously haven't called or anything. I didn't even hold onto it…" Dean said, mostly into his half-full coffee mug.

Sam deflated a bit with a long sigh. He failed to notice Dean was a million miles away. Back in that parking lot. Back with that amazing feeling he had experienced after Jo had called and bailed him out. On J's orders.

Sam had obviously been expecting something juicer with the way the chick was acting. Dean was glad he didn't notice

"So, once you made the lame excuse and left, which I assume had something to do with me having car trouble I am guessing? Okay. Then what happened?" Sam asked. His expression was curious, somewhat hopeful.

"I umm…" Dean trailed off trying to recall what had happened that night after he had left the bar.

He knew what had happened. It was the same reason he was having trouble putting a full sentence together at the moment.

J had happened. J had been everything that had happened.

He had been distracted by the fact that J had told Jo to call him, to get him out of the mess with Audrey, that he had not noticed anything else. Not being followed or what happened after that. It was all a fog. A blur.

Jo's phone call had been his excuse to leave in the first place. J had been the reason he had left and hadn't noticed a thing. She had him all kinds of distracted. A rookie mistake.

Dean was only now remembering.

"I… I umm…" Dean stammered.

"I barely remember reaching the parking lot. I must have been dosed inside and it took a second to kick in or something. I can't remember much." Dean said. Relieved that it was somewhat, mostly true.

He had actually been thinking about J having Jo call. He was distracted because J had thought of him, and had known in some way that he needed help. That she had known. And she had actually done something about it. Dean couldn't help but smile to himself, even now, at the thought.

The thoughts and feelings were all-consuming for Dean.

Sam observed his brother with narrowed eyes. Reading him and knowing there was something Dean was withholding. But Sam relented. Dean did not look comfortable, that was for sure.

Sam figured it was because just then Audrey walked by to help another table and brushed Dean's leg with her outstretched hand as she passed. Even Sam saw it and gawked after her.

_"This is going to be a long morning."_ Dean thought to himself as he saw J walking back to their booth, a smile now settled into her features as she looked out the windows along the booth side of the diner. Audrey was walking towards her on the bar side.

Her and Audrey bumped shoulders casually in their passing. J had been looking the other way, out the window. She turned and quickly apologized, putting her hand on Audrey's arm, looking into her eyes.

J looked like she was apologizing to Audrey again as they both turned away from each other to continue on their ways. Audrey now had a somewhat dazed look on her face as she continued to walk to the back of the diner where J had just come from.

J's smile had turned smug.

"Hey, Dean. Would you mind if I sat next to you this time? There is an awful glare from someone's windshield. It's not doing this headache any favors." J said even more sweetly to him than she had been to Sam. She smiled an irresistible smile at him.

Dean's stomach lurched as he got up out of the booth to let J slide in. Her hand had reached out and grazed his shoulders from one side to the other as she slid behind him. Sending chills down his spine in the process. This touch was more than welcomed. This touch was something he had been craving deep down.

"Of course, no problem." He said gruffly as that craving intensified for a moment.

As Dean sat back down in the booth, he could feel J sitting there next to him. Feel the dip in the booth seat. Feel her body heat. Feel her voice resonate as she spoke. It was almost as if he were suddenly super sensitive to her presence. The hairs on his arms stood up on end.

There seemed to be electricity running through the air between Dean and J and Dean wasn't sure if J was even aware or if she even felt anything at all. Or if he was just nuts and imagining the whole thing.

J and Sam continued their conversation on Djinn for a few more minutes and Dean collected and sorted his thoughts quietly. It seemed there was a lot of lore neither of the brothers knew about and J was only more than happy to fill them in on what she knew.

They had the basics down. But there were some nuances to them that would help them in the future if they happen to cross paths with one again in the future. Which was extremely likely.

Audrey came around with a full pot of coffee to refill their cups a few minutes later. When she went to put her hand on Dean's shoulder again, she touched it for a fraction of a second, before pulling her hand away as if she had been shocked by an electric current.

The look on her face conveyed the surprise she felt. Dean was just as astounded. Not only had he known it was a shock that she felt, but he had also felt it too. Only, to him, it did not feel like an electric shock. It was not painful like it seemed to be to Audrey. It felt more like his body heat pulsed in that area, like a muscle twitch under his skin.

J just leaned back in her seat and asked for a refill on her coffee. And watched. Dean noticed the slight smirk she had on her face that she was trying to hide. Sam had not noticed as he waited impatiently for Audrey to leave so he could finish asking the question she had interrupted.

Once everyone's mugs were full and hot again, Audrey tried to touch Dean again. This time on his forearm as she bent down low, to expose her cleavage, and to ask him if there was anything else that she could get him.

Audrey audibly yelped, straighten up, and withdrew her hand as she finished the sentence. Again, like she had been shocked by a strong electric current. She looked at Dean with wide eyes before she turned around and walked away without another word. Dean just smiled at her the whole time, having felt his muscles twitch under her touch again.

He liked this new inability for her to touch. Wherever it came from. He even kind of liked that it caused her discomfort. Served her right for being all over him without his consent in the company of family and friends.

Audrey brought them all their food and another round of refills with not even a look in Dean's direction. She kept as far away from his as humanly possible for the remainder of their meal and asked him a few questions and was polite for a waitress.

"She doesn't seem as friendly all of a sudden." Sam noted when he forked over the cash to pay for everyone despite J's fiery, and imaginative, objections.

"Yeah. Maybe she finally got the hint that I'm not that into her or something." Dean mused.

"Or maybe she had a shocking revelation." J added without thinking. The way her eyes went wide for a second told Dean she had not meant to say that. He did not believe in coincidences.

And at the time, Dean was actually thinking about J's reaction to Audrey's actions. He was wondering why she had been smirking. And if he was perfectly honest with himself, he was wondering if she had anything to do with Audrey's changed behavior and her newfound incapability to touch him now.

J's comment only added more question to the ever-growing pile of unanswered ones.

Dean sighed. He was resolute on getting answers. Sooner rather than later. As he got up from the booth, he made a promise to himself to at least ask some questions. At the very least.

The three gathered their things and left the small diner. The sun was a lot higher in the sky now. They had a long day ahead of them, and Dean didn't know whether to dread the drive or rejoice in it.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Out in the parking lot, Sam was busy adjusting J's driver's seat and mirrors to fit his ginormousness inside comfortably. She went straight to her trunk and popped it. She then began looking through some of the stuff. Which Dean found to be quite intricate. Even for a hunter.

Upon first inspection, it looked like any person's trunk. There were a few bags of clothes, a massive toolbox, boxes of shoes, and some other odds and ends you'd expect to find in a closet. Or in the trunk of a car.

Dean's attention was caught by, what looked like, a pair of at least 6-inch tall stiletto pumps with red bottoms. More so what J would look like wearing them. Before he could think any more on it, she reached out, obscuring his sight of the Fuck-Me Pumps.

When J reached, she reached for something hidden in the corner; a little dial lock was revealed. She put in the combination and a large section of the trunk's bottom popped up. Only enough for J to reach her fingers into and lift the hatch of the opening back. When the hatch was fully back and J had propped it up with a built-in kickstand, she revealed a hunter's treasure trove of weapons.

Dean could now see all kinds of knives. Blades made of every material you could think of, of every possible varying length. There was even a blade that had three edges spiraling towards the hilt that Dean had never seen before. They lined the walls of the compartment in various holders and sheaths.

There were wooden stakes, and a whole array of blunt objects, too. Most looked home-made. There was even a variety of what looked like various pieces of bomb-making equipment, a few pieces looking familiar from their last hunt. Dean's eyes were attracted to a baseball bat with inches-long nails driven through the top.

As he looked on in awe, he could see there was an arrangement of guns that Dean didn't even know the name, or even caliber of. His eyes must have been wide with child-like wonder. He felt like a kid in a candy store.

_"Is that a fucking rocket launcher?! Or was that a grenade launcher? Either way, that thing can fucking launch something at somebody. Holy shit!" _Dean thought to himself as he openly stared at the artillery. He never wanted to ask a girl to a gun range so badly before in his life.

_"When have I ever wanted to bring a girl to the gun range to begin with_?" Dean wondered monetarily to himself.

"I have something I think you two will appreciate and will like using. They come in handy sometimes, and I have to admit they are fun on long drives." J said over her shoulder at Dean while she continued to rummage around the bottom of the compartment. He was prepared to be handed a fucking I.E.D at this point.

J grabbed a few pairs of batteries from a box at the bottom of the hidden compartment and handed them to Dean before she closed it again. It was imperceptible where it was. Even now that Dean knew it was there. He couldn't see the seams at all. It blended flawlessly. He wondered if she had done this customization herself or if she had had someone do it for her.

She then reached in towards the back corner and pushed another hidden button, revealing another lock. She entered the code into this one, too, and another compartment opened. This one was a little smaller and had all kinds of flashlights, flares, and other luminous items. Dean also caught sight of some jumper cables, a couple of sets of wrenches and tools, and other odds and ends related to mechanic work. He was impressed that she had both metric and standard. She reached in and pulled out a pair of two-way radios.

"Aha! I knew they were still in here somewhere." J said triumphantly as she held up two hand-held radios. Those batteries should work. I never keep batteries in anything I'm not using so there shouldn't be any old ones in the chambers." Dean looked, and sure enough, they were empty on both sets.

_"Smart. Never need to worry about batteries corroding and bursting, ruining perfectly good electronics. But then again, it would suck to have a flashlight without…"_ Dean couldn't finish the thought, J interrupted him with a look.

"Except for the flashlights. I keep batteries in all the flashlights. That would just be dim not to…" She laughed at her own joke, putting a hand on her knee with the effort. This made Dean laugh. He found her laugh to be quite infectious. Her smile, too.

"Are those walkie talkies?" Sam asked as he back to the trunk where Dean and J stood. A smile spreading across his face. Sam knew he had just interrupted something. But for now, Dean was glad for the mental interruption.

"Yeah. They work at a distance of a few football fields, at least. I figured you two could have some fun with them on the drive today. Jo and I used to use them all the time when we meet up on hunts and had separate cars." J said.

"Try it out. Go walk over to the other side of the parking lot, Sam. We will stay here and make sure they work."

Sam started walking, excited to try them out. He was busy looking down at his handset, turning it on and tuning it in as he walked away. J now turned and looked at Dean.

She just kept looking at him. Like she was expecting something. He was frozen. She just kept looking. The tension in the air was mounting.

"What?" Dean said self-consciously, looking everywhere but at her. When he finally looked at her, J was looking at him with a funny look on her face now. Dean's stomach knotted unpleasantly.

"You wanna turn it on?" she asked sarcastically. Like an IT person asking if it's plugged in.

Dean blushed and turned the radio over in his hands. Of course. He was standing there like an idiot with the fresh batteries still in one hand, and the handset in the other. When he inserted them and adjusted a knob, it crackled to life. Dean adjusted the volume a bit as Sam reached the other side of the parking lot and turned his handset over in his hand and raised it to his mouth.

The walkie talkie in Dean's hand fizzed to life and Sam's voice came across loud and clear.

"Breaker, Breaker One-Nine. Do you read me? Over."

Dean found the 'Talk' button, pressed it, and spoke into his handset. "10-4, Big Moose. You are coming in loud and clear on this end. How do I sound? Over."

"Crystal clear over here, Squirrel. Over." They could see Sam giving a Bitchface from where they stood. Dean returned it as he brought his handset up to his mouth again.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

Dean had a feeling these would be fun to have on the drive today. It wasn't often Sam and Dean had different cars. He thanked J as she grabbed a few other things from her car and threw them in her bag that she then threw into the back of the Impala. She grabbed her jacket and closed the trunk of her car. Sam was just getting back to them from the other side of the parking lot as she was pulling it on.

"I'm going to go ahead and check out, guys. I'm going to plug my headphones in so I'll be all but oblivious to the world. You'll probably have to scream my name to wake me up. Just so you're aware if the need arises. I won't be able to hear shit." J said as she pulled out a pair of headphones from her bag.

"Oh, I'm sure Dean will have absolutely no problem screaming your name when the need arises, J." Sam said insinuatingly as he wiggled his eyes at Dean behind her back. Dean threw him a look that should have set Sam on fire.

"I saw that Sam Winchester," J said as she rolled her eyes at what Sam had said in Dean's direction so only Dean could see. Sam couldn't. Sam's face fell and Dean could not help but laugh. J just smiled at him apologetically. His face warmed slightly.

"I was only meaning you two are free to talk over the handsets without having to worry about bothering me. Dean, you can play your music as loud as you want. Do not worry about me, please. If I need you to shut the hell up, I will tell you so. Also, don't forget I'm back there when it comes to pit stops." She fixed a pair of headphones into her ears and connected it to her phone.

J reached up and released her hair from its confines of her bun. It cascaded down around her face and shoulders, covering the headphones entirely.

"If you need me or anything, just poke me." She said with a small wink to Dean as she climbed into the backseat of the Impala. She had her bag behind the front passenger's seat and was in the process of removing her boots.

"If you need anything just let Dean know. Take care of my little POS, will you Sam?" J asked jokingly towards the other brother. "Although, I'm sure you will find this particular car to be more than satisfactory. I worked on her myself. She's got a little something extra under the hood." J concluded with a little smirk. Leaving Sam with a questioning look on his face as she closed the door on them and laid down on her back in the backseat of the Impala.

Both Sam and Dean looked at her through the window as she settled in and pressed play on her phone and relaxed back into the seat. Dean realized that she would be able to see him from her position with her head in the back passenger's seat. His stomach flipped this time.

"At least she looks somewhat comfortable. That backseat of hers is nothing to write home about. I checked it out. I wouldn't be too comfortable back there sitting normally." Sam said.

"You should have her show you the trunk sometime, Sammy. Then maybe you will see exactly why that may be. I wouldn't be surprised if it as smaller than factory standard with the amount of stuff she has stored back there."

Sam couldn't help but wiggle his eyebrows at Dean again.

"Are you impressed with the junk in J's trunk?" he said smoothly. Tauntingly.

"Very impressed actually. I was actually wondering who did the work, I was going to have to ask her, but she said she did all the work herself. I may have Baby overhauled. It's about time I did something with it. It's been getting more and more crammed over the years. Hers was pretty fucking nice. Let's say I feel inspired." Dean said with a slight grin on his face.

"You will have to ask her about that when she wakes up, then." Sam said, slightly surprised at Dean's reaction. He had not been expecting that one. Yet, he had not seen the trunk, he had been too busy adjusting everything to fit and to see properly at the time. Dean didn't miss the slight smile on J's face.

_Is she still listening? _Dean thought to himself.

"Seriously, I'm going to ask for a formal tour when we get there. I'll have the radio on if you need me." Dean said as he turned away from Sam and headed towards the driver's side of the Impala. As he opened the door, he looked back over at Sam who was about to get into J's car.

"Drive safe, Sammy." He said right before he slid into the driver's seat of the Impala. Not waiting for a response from Sam. When he was seated and the door was closed, he heard something. It sounded like muffled heavy metal music.

Dean glanced behind him into the backseat and caught sight of J. She was laying on her back with her hands supporting her head, her legs tucked in, knees towards the roof. Dean was thankful to see her boots on the floor behind him. She was certainly courteous, and he appreciated that.

Her head was moving to the beat Dean could not-faintly hear and she was mouthing the words to the song. She wasn't kidding when she said not to worry about bothering her. It must have been impossible to hear anything over the sound of the music she had playing. He was going to have to ask for whatever she was listening to. It sounded like a good song.

Dean averted his eyes put the keys in the ignition and fired up the engine. Baby purred to like once again.

"Ready to leave when you are, Moose. Over" Dean said into his radio.

It crackled almost immediately. "10-4. Been waiting on you, Squirrel! Over." Came Sam's response. Dean made a face and chucked the radio into the passage seat. He stole another look back at J before throwing it in Reverse and pulling Baby out of the parking spot.

Sam was close behind as they made their way to the interstate.

By the time they were heading East, Dean looked in his rearview again. J was fast asleep, music still loud enough to hear over the sound of Baby's engine and her tires on the road.

Once they hit the interstate both Sam and Dean knew what J had meant by 'more than satisfactory' when it came to her car. There were _definitely_ more horses in this engine than in a standard Toyota. This wasn't factory. Like, at all.

As Sam chuckled to himself as he easily overtook Dean in the Impala on the onramp, he thought of how he was going to have to ask what kind of work she had done.

The radio in the passenger seat crackled to life next to Dean.

"The last one to that major truck stop about 200 miles down the road buys gas?"

"You're on."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

The first couple dozen miles or so were interesting, to say the least. They were still very much within the city when they got onto the interstate. It was pretty heavy traffic as both Sam and Dean realized it was barely 8 AM during a normal 9-5 workday.

For more than an hour, they kept along with the steady flow of morning commuters. Soon the traffic started to clear. Now, they were passing through the suburbs, so they were mostly through battling rush-hour traffic.

Dean had lost sight of Sam in J's care miles ago.

Now was the time that Sam gave Dean a reason to be jealous of another car. The traffic had almost no effect on Sam in J's little Toyota. It was, however, a huge problem for Dean and the Impala. Sam always managed to _just barely _squeak by other cars and get into spaces Dean knew the Impala would simply not fit or be able to maneuver into.

Dean was glad J was asleep in the back and did not know how much he was losing by. He was thoroughly embarrassed and disappointed with himself. He had to hand it to her, her car was very zippy and maneuverable. It did have an advantage on him, especially at the moment. He hated to admit it. He couldn't even see Sam anymore, then again, the silver Corolla blended in with all the other cars on the road, unlike the stand-out classic car that was Baby.

"Dude you are, like, WAY the fuck back there. I can barely see you. Having that much trouble keeping up?" Sam's voice echoed to life in the passenger seat mockingly where the handset lay. Dean reached over for it without letting his eyes drift from the road in front of him.

"It's fucking rush-hour, dude. It's almost bumper to bumper traffic. You have the unfair advantages of having a smaller car, as well as being _that _asshole that cuts people off left and right." Dean said gruffly into his handset. He sighed and continued. "I couldn't get into that one space you took like a dozen cars back, and I've been fucked ever since."

"That's what she said." Was all Sam had to say.

Dean rolled his eyes. He was even more determined now. Traffic was slowly getting thinner, and so were the spaces between the exits. He was getting more and more opportunities to overtake other cars.

They were almost out of town completely now. Dean shifted Baby into the next gear and overtook the car next to him as he pulled over to pull ahead even further. A smirk growing on his face.

Now that there was a significantly smaller number of cars on the road, Dean easily caught up to Sam. Caught up to him and passed him. Now it was Dean's turn to show off. He floored it and Baby's engine roared as she leaped forward at his encouragement.

Dean then hesitated for a split second. His breath catching in his throat.

He had not quite forgotten about J, still asleep in the back. He looked in the rearview mirror, adjusting it slightly so he could still see out the back window, but could also see her sleeping at the same time if he adjusted the right way.

She had not been disturbed by the force of the acceleration, nor by the sound of the engine. Dean was relieved. He did not want to wake her; even if that meant him losing.

"_Wait… WHAT?!"_

He had thought for sure the jolt into the next highest gear would have had an effect on her. Made her move at least. It had not, thank God.

It did not take long for Dean and Baby to leave Sam and J's Corolla behind. Dean was just focused on getting ahead. He did not know how far ahead he had gotten exactly until the handset in the passenger seat crackled to life.

"Dean…. I can't… you. How… up there are…... exactly?" Sam's voice faded in and out, barely even audible. Dean remembered that they were limited in how far they could be and still stay in contact. He let off the gas and checked around him.

Not a car in sight. Not even Sam.

"I'm letting up, Sammy. Give me a minute to slow down and for you to catch up." Dean said into his handset. He wasn't sure how much had gotten through as Sam did not attempt to reach him again.

Dean looked in his rearview mirror again. This time his eyes were on J. She was still on her back; her legs were resting against the back of the seat now, limp in sleep. Her head was to her left. She was facing towards Dean. He could see a cascade of hair around her face and around her shoulders. He could also see the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed deeply and evenly.

The longer Dean looked, the more ethereal she became. And the more of a creeper he began to feel like. Here he was, watching a woman sleep. She _was_ in the back of his moving vehicle, and he did want to make sure she was still doing ok. So it wasn't _that _disturbing. Was it?

Dean was going to have a hard time waking her up. One, she was deeply asleep, and two, he was just going to have a hard time waking her up. Period. He was not about to go screaming her name, though. And he did not feel like poking her, either.

Why was the thought of waking someone up this hard?

Dean's thoughts trailed off for a moment. Thinking of himself screaming her name. There were more than a few ways and more than a few scenarios running through his head. He jumped slightly after losing himself in the thought when J sighed and rolled onto her stomach, a clear smile on her face. She flicked her hair so it was away from her neck and face.

Dean tried the radio again. Trying to ignore the fact that J's shirt was riding up a little bit and the curve of her back as she half hung off the seat. The sun shown brightly in her tousled hair that now fell to the floor up and around her. One arm was holding on to the edge of the seat while she used the other as a pillow.

She looked like Dean's idea of a Sleeping Beauty Centerfold. He averted his eyes and took the radio in his hand again, pressing the 'Talk' button.

"Come in, Sam. Can you read me? Over."

"There you are. I still can't see you, but I can hear you fine. You must not be that much further ahead now which is good because that rest stop is coming up here in the next 20 miles or so. Did you wake J up with you show of machoism back there?" Sam inquired, surprising Dean.

He looked in the backseat again. He could have sworn he saw a little smile on J's lips again.

"Nah, I don't think so. That wasn't machoism, Sammy. That was simply me letting Baby's horses run free. All that traffic stifled her back there. She needed space. And J seems to be still out like a light. I am half tempted to let her be. But I know I'd be pissed if someone didn't wake me up for a rest stop. I'll see you when we get there. I'm gonna let her ride. Over and out."

Dean set the walkie talkie onto the seat next to him and put his foot to the floor.

When Dean arrived at the truck stop, he had to wait a full 10 minutes for Sam to show up. He was waiting, leaning back against the bumper of the Impala when Sam pulled the silver car up next to him and got out.

"Were you under criminal speeding at any point since you sped off?" Sam said sarcastically as he stretched. No matter what car it was, he was still huge and needed more room than any car could provide; outside of limos and party buses.

"Nope." Dean said with a grin.

"Aren't you going to wake J up?" Sam asked as he looked into the back of the Impala, reaching for the handle. Dean jumped up. Trying to get between his brother and the back door, while smacking his hand away.

"Woah there, easy tiger." Sam said as he withdrew his hand and threw his arms up at Dean's unexpected move to get between Sam and the car. "Did you seriously just smack my hand away?" Sam just looked at Dean with raised eyebrows and a stupid grin on his face. At least Dean thought it was stupid.

Before Dean could think of a proper response to Sam about his knee-jerk reaction just then, he walked off in the direction of the convivence store on the other side of the parking lot by the gas pumps. Dean looked after him and wondered to himself. He had been questioning himself a lot recently and it was not a comforting thought now that he took the moment to reflect.

Before he could chicken out, he banged his knuckles against the glass by J's head. "Wake up sleepy head. Pit stop! I said I would wake you up. Here's me trying."

Dean took a step back. J was awake and staring right at him. Honey-covered emeralds were bright. Alert and analytical, as always.

She straightened up in the seat and stretched quietly before getting out, continuing to stretch. Dean just watched her do so. Eyes quickly raking over her now exposed skin along her abdomen as she reached up, above her head.

"Thanks for waking me up. Give me the keys. I'll go freshen up and lock myself back. Just knock again and I'll unlock it for you. I won't put in my headphones until we are on the road again." J said groggily. She had her hand out already, waiting for the keys.

Dean just watched her rub her eyes of sleep for a second absentmindedly.

Without a word, and before J could notice him staring, Dean dropped the keys into her hand. J then walked off in the same direction as Sam.

Dean stood there for a minute or two longer, watching her go. Watching the sway of her hips, the swing and bounce of her hair. Contemplating a few of the many things that had been on his mind since he met J.

Things were indeed a lot more complicated than they really needed to be, Dean finally surmised. J was enigmatic, yes. But he was also just plain screwing it up with the way he had been handling everything. There needed to be some break, some kind of change. He was done sitting idly by and being just an observer in this situation.

He had a lot to think about. Dean was looking forward to the long drive ahead. Thankful that J was so tired and would be asleep for most of it, if not the whole trip. He had no real idea how long she was planning on crashing for. He was going to take the time he was given and use it wisely.

When everyone had done their thing and gotten back to the cars with bags of road snacks and drinks and such, J let Dean back into the Impala. She smiled sleepily at him before putting her headphones back in and laying back down in the backseat.

Sam and Dean agreed they would leave radio communications to a minimum for the next bout of their journey. If anything was needed, cellphones would be used. Dean wanted to insure he was left alone, so he turned his phone to silent in his pocket.

As Dean slid into the driver's seat of the Impala, he looked into the backseat one last time. J seemed to be already asleep. She was laying on her stomach facing him with earphones securely in place. Her features were expressionless, relaxed.

He could hear the heavy bass drum of her music again, now that the door was closed. Dean looked up into his rearview as he settled into his seat. The tightness in his chest that he had not realized was there, throbbed. It was suddenly hard for him to breathe.

Dean wrenched his eyes away from the mirror and took a deep breath. He looked straight ahead as he heard Sam start J's car up.

He put his key into the ignition and turned it. Baby roared to life.

Both brothers reversed out of their spaces and headed back towards the entrance to the interstate. This time there was no race, no set meeting point. Just another long drive like they were both so accustomed to now.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

The miles stretched out in front of Dean. The last few hours had passed without much incident. It was just Dean, Baby, and the open interstate; with J dead to the world in the backseat. Dean had left Sam behind a couple of hours back, putting the pedal to the metal as they wound their way through another small town. They both texted each other when they stopped, but they had not seen each other since the truck stop that morning.

Dean pulled Baby into a little gas station off the interstate. There was nothing for miles in every direction. There were still maybe 300 miles left until they were anywhere near The Roadhouse. It was time to stretch and gas up. Maybe grab a snack if everything was already pre-packaged.

"J. Wake up. We're stopping for gas, among other things. You want out or do you want to keep sleeping this time?" Dean called over his shoulder. He was used to waking her up now.

There was movement in the backseat and J's arms wrapped around the driver's seat headrest as she pulled herself forward.

"I need out. I can't be back here another second." Dean heard from the backseat.

"And I need a brush. Leather and hair don't mix well. It gets hot back there, man." J said slightly dazed as she sat up. Dean could hear the grumpiness in her voice. She sounded rough and gravely like she had been deeply asleep.

Dean pulled the Impala up to a pump and put her in park before looking over at J who was hanging her arms around the passenger seat looking dazed and confused, to say the least. He couldn't help but start laughing.

A silent belly laugh that shook the whole car.

"Shut the _fuck_ up, Dean Winchester. Or I will find something to hold against you!" She pointed into her eyes with two fingers and then pointed them back into his in the universal sign of 'I am watching you/ I have my eyes on you.'

"But you look like a rocker from the 80s!" Dean managed to choke out in between gasping breaths. It was true. All of J's hair had been messed up, teased up, and charged up with static electricity from the leather seats. She was rocking some mad 80's Glam Rock hair right now. All she needed was the headbands and some crimping.

"As I said, my hair and leather seats don't work. Now shut the hell up before I knock some sense into you." J warned as she began to try and gather and tame her mane into a ponytail at the base of her neck.

Dean was still giggling when she was finished restraining her hair.

J looked at him for a second. She sighed and rolled her eyes. Then she reached over and smacked him over the back of the head and crossed her arms. The fire in her eyes returning.

"Hey! What was that for!?" Dean palmed the back of his head and looked at J, slightly affronted that she would actually follow up on her word of literally knocking sense into him.

"That was for laughing. I warned you to stop. You did not. A slap to the face is an insult. A slap to the back of the head is a wake-up call. There's a big difference. Remember that." J raised her eyebrows at Dean, almost daring him to say something as she grabbed her bag.

"That's what I thought." J said with a crooked grin as she went to get out of the car.

It took Dean's breath away and he was momentarily stunned. He was out of it long enough for J to get out of the car and start heading towards the little run-down convenience store attached to the gas station.

"What a woman…" Dean said softly to himself.

"I heard that!" J called over her shoulder. That same crooked smile on her face grew wider.

About an hour later Dean found himself in a very familiar situation. Two-lane highway, hardly any cars for miles, and rolling green hills as far as the eye could see. He had decided to take the more scenic, less direct route back to The Roadhouse.

J was asleep in the backseat again. Dead to the world with her headphones in and music blasting.

Dean had some serious thinking he was getting done today. He did not often find he had time to himself like this. A lot of things that had been prying on his mind for a while. Some things that were more pressing than others. All in all, Dean's mind was a very messy place at the moment and he was determined to sort through it all.

What Dean would lose in extra miles on his detour; he would gain back in speed. By his own calculations, he bet he would still beat Sam by a good half hour. At least.

The roar of the engine and the hum of the tires soon lulled Dean into the all-too-familiar stupor he longed for. His mind unfocused, distant, and his driving instincts kicking in.

_Auto-pilot engaged. _Dean half-heartedly thought to himself as he smiled at the thought before it, too, was distant.

These were the moments Dean lived for. The serene calm of The Open Road. The rhythm and the hum of his tires and Baby's engine purring steadily. His mind going blissfully blank as the miles passed. Time seemed to stand still. All the pressure was off.

It was nice, here in these moments. Dean felt more at ease now than he had in a very long time. He was grateful he had decided to take the long way at the last minute.

Nothing mattered now.

Not the woman in the backseat, nor his ever-growing, and ever more complicated feelings that were developing around her. Not the feeling in his gut that something was just _off _about her. Not the fact that there will always be another monster to kill. Not the fact that there always seemed to be another threat to the human race that he and his brother would somehow manage to get wrangled into. Not the next hunt. Not his next move. Not even his next thought.

This was a rare moment. Dean Winchester was completely at peace.

The sun had started to sink lower in the sky when Dean finally came back around. He slowly snapped out of the reprieve he had been in. He was completely relaxed now. Almost as if he was just waking up from a much-needed nap.

A mental one.

He didn't know how long he had been, what had J called it? Meditating? He had given up on thinking, analyzing everything, what felt like forever ago. Either way, he was tired of the lack of music so he reached for the dials of the radio. Hoping that he was close enough to a major city to catch some radio waves and a station that wasn't just AM talk radio.

Static filled the air as he turned the dials left and right trying to adjust the volume and find a station.

Finally, he caught one that seemed to be promising. It must have been the local 'hard-rock' station. Breaking The Habit by Linkin Park filled the cab. Remembering J asleep in the back, Dean turned the radio down a bit, not wanting to disturb her.

After Linkin Park, an old Metallica song came on. Dean was really starting to like this station. Next was some Judas Priest, some newer Slayer, and Kansas. Classic and more modern. This was a station he could rock out to for a while.

The cover of Simple Man by Shinedown came on and Dean let out a little exclamation of excitement.

He loved this song and this cover.

He found himself singing along to the track, turning up the volume just a bit so he could better hear the song.

By the end of it, he was giving it all he had, pounding his hands on the steering wheel and dashboard along with the music.

The last note came to a close. In that second between songs, there was another sound that took Dean entirely by surprise. Clapping.

Dean was caught so off-guard that he swerved, causing J to fall over into the seat next to her.

"Jesus fucking Christ don't kill me!" came J's muffled yell from the back as she picked herself up from the heap she was flung into by the force of Dean's swerve.

"Hey, it's been silent back there for hundreds of miles and most of the day and out of nowhere, you start clapping. Who does that!?" Dean shot back as he caught her glare in the rearview mirror with his own.

"Sorry, man. I just… I did not know you could sing." J said flatly. Looking at him evenly in the rearview.

"I can't." Dean said just as flatly, avoiding eye contact with the rearview mirror now.

"Uh, bullshit Winchester. That's like me telling you that I can't sing. Then tell me what the hell you would call _that? _What I just heard_?_" She sighed exasperatedly.

"Screw this. Hold onto the steering wheel. I'm about to make a maneuver." J grabbed her bag and flung it onto the floor of the front seat before Dean could register what was happening.

"What the…" was all Dean managed to get out before J flung a leg over the passenger seat and started slinking her way into the front seat.

Yes, slinking. Dean watched from his peripheral vision as J lithely slithered one leg between the two front seats, followed by her arms for support. She then slid her torso smoothly after it, finally followed by the other leg.

J was agile as a cat and just as flexible. She effectively climbed into the front seat and was turning around and adjusting to sit properly, without so much as bumping Dean. Before he knew what had happened, she was sitting shotgun and strapping herself into the seatbelt.

Dean wished he had had more time to study exactly how she had done that. It was something out of a spy movie. Or Cirque Du Solei. J wasn't exactly short, and there wasn't exactly that much room to move around in. And she wasn't exactly slow about it.

"There, that's way better! So, as I was saying. Dean Winchester can sing, huh? Tell me more about that." J smiled slyly at him as she angled her body more towards him, flinging an arm out the window she rolled down.

Dean looked over, a response at the ready. But the scene in front of him literally took his breath away. His response that was on the tip of his tongue was forgotten entirely. What he was about to say just went out the window with her arm.

J was smiling at him now. Her hair was blowing in the breeze coming from the windows. Her ripped jeans and t-shirt looked perfectly comfortable, and perfect on her.

This was almost exactly as his daydream back in the cave. Only this was real. And it was so much better. The sudden flash of the memory left Dean stuttering.

"Umm. Y-yeah. I... I guess I'm not bad. I don't get much practice." Dean mumbled out, averting his eyes back to the road in front of him trying to clear his head before she could get a read on him.

"Give yourself a little more credit, dude. You have talent. I enjoyed listening to you. And you were obviously having fun." J said as she too looked out of the windshield.

"How long have you been awake?" Dean asked pointedly, giving J a suspicious look.

"Right around Judas Priest. So, not long to answer your question. I'm not that much of a creep. But I also did not want to interrupt." Responded J. Dean caught the edge of her smile out of the corner of his eye.

"So, you've been listening in on me this whole time?" Dean shot at her, slightly embarrassed to have been caught.

"Well, it's not like I had anywhere to go, Dean." J said sarcastically.

"Touché." Countered Dean. "I'm sorry I just feel like someone was listening in on me. I forgot you were back there."

"I don't mean for you to feel that way. If you want, I can get inside your head and make this seem like unequivocally no big deal." J said with eyebrows bouncing complete with a face-splitting grin.

"Absolutely not I will not have that!" Dean said with a finger pointed at J and a grin starting to creep through his resolve.

Both of them ended up laughing at the joke. Both of them were grateful for the break in the tension.

"Has Sam ever heard you sing? Have you done any karaoke? You've heard me and not a lot of people can say that." J asked as she put her foot up on the seat and leaned back into the corner to better look at Dean.

Dean was momentarily distracted by this movement. The way the setting sunlight caught J's hair made it look like fire. He watched as she tucked a stray strand that was floating in her face in the wind behind her ear. The movement was so minute, yet held all of Dean's attention.

"Sam had heard me, yeah. He says the same thing you do. Yeah, I have heard you sing, and I must say you got some pipes on you, sweetheart. You are not hard on the ears." He said matter-of-factly.

Before he could stop himself, he added, "Since you got to hear me sing, will you sing for me?"

J looked over at him with the sweetest smile she had given him yet.

"I think that's fair." She said nodding in agreement. "Just not right now. I still am half asleep. My voice is going to sound like shit. Unless you want me to sing, more like scream, something like Dimmu Borgir, or something super metal like that. Let's talk for a bit first so I can warm up, shall we?" She added with a bark of a laugh.

She really did look good riding his shotgun. She looked at ease. Hand out the window catching air currents as her hair blew around her.

Dean looked over at J. He looked into those honey-covered emeralds for only a second; afraid he would get lost. J looked back at him, she had another knowing look on her face. The spark in her duo-toned eyes had abruptly changed. She knew what he was thinking. Dean would bet money on it.

"I keep seeing flashes of my hair." J looked down like she was admitting a secret she swore she would never tell.

"I can tell that you like it. Thank you. I guess. I don't take compliments very well. Sorry… I really don't mean to be reading your mind or whatever. It just kind of happens. Sometimes I still don't have full control of it." She smiled a very small smile to herself as she almost whispered that last part.

"I think it looks like fire right now. To go with your eyes." Dean said as he remained eye forward on the road.

Dean could see J out of the corner of his eye. She put the back of her hand up to her face to lean her chin on it as she looked out the windshield, too.

"I get that from my mom. It's the German. My hair comes out red in the sun." J said almost absentmindedly, grabbing at a piece of hair and winding it around her fingers.

"So that was a different language I heard back there in the cave? It was German?" Dean asked, remembering J working on Sam in the cave.

"Yeah, my mom was German. My dad traveled for work for the same company. They met when he was on a trip in Stuttgart. He only ever remembered enough to get by." J laughed at the thought as she looked off into space. "My aunt Chris, her sister, made sure I could speak and write fluently growing up." J replied.

"What happened to you mom?" Dean asked without thinking. He cringed inwardly at his lack of tact.

"She died when I was four. I barely remember her. It's always been my dad, my aunt, and me. Now it's just me and my aunt now." J sighed.

"I'm sorry," Dean said quickly. "I didn't know. I remember you said you dad had died, I never did get to tell you my condolences for that. I'm sure that was a lot harder for you."

"Yeah, it was just a few years ago. It's still fresh…" J's voiced trailed off as she looked out her side window, away from Dean. He could see her jaw clenching as he snuck a peek over at her while she was looking away.

He was afraid that he had gone too far this time. She turned back around, running her hand through her hair and she sighed again, seeming to force herself to relax.

"If it's anything, I'm sorry about your mom, and now your dad, too. Ellen told me what happened."

Dean cleared his throat, not prepared for the sudden change in conversation. "Uh, thanks."

Desperately looking for something to change the subject he said the first thing that came to his mind, "Want to play 20 questions: Get-to-Know-You style?"

J looked over at him quizzically. "Explain." Was all she said.

"Meaning we each get 20 questions to ask. It can be anything, about anything. Passes are excepted, but only with some kind of explanation. A simple "Not going there" will suffice. I don't mean to pry." Dean smiled as he told her the rules of the little game. He was getting more and more confident now.

"Hmmm. It sounds like fun. How about you also have to answer the same question you are asking of the other person. Deal?" J almost challenged.

"Deal. I still haven't forgotten about you singing for me." Dean replied. Smile growing wider now.

"Ah, shit. I thought I was going to get away with that!" She said with a dramatic sigh. "Fine. Ask away, Herr Fuehrer." J said with a flawless German accent, and a smirk.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

"What's your favorite color?" Dean asked. "Mine is blue."

"Mine is red or black. To be honest it's a toss-up between the two. J responded to Dean's questions without missing a beat. These run of the mill questions Get-To-Know-You questions were obviously boring the shit out of her.

"Depending on who you are black may or may not count. _That_ has been a topic of discussion in the past with more than one person." J added dryly with a bit of a chuckle.

"What do you mean a 'topic of discussion'? How can black not be a color? How can you discuss that? There isn't much up for debate." Dean looked at J taken again off-guard by the randomness of her added tidbit of information. He looked back out of the windshield as she began to explain.

"Well, if you are an artist of any medium black means the presence of every color. Presumably, if you mix all colors together you would get black. However, I, as a photographer, black is the absence of light. Light is the presence of all colors. See that one Pink Floyd album cover. Prisms that turn light into rainbows, light's different frequencies shown in vivid colors. So, in my theory, black is the absence of color, therefore it is not a color."

As J talked, she gathered her hair over to hang over one shoulder. Dean couldn't help but watch out of the corner of his eye. Even these small movements were utterly fascinating to him. Even such a simple move was riveting. He almost missed what she had said.

"You're a photographer?" Dean blurted out as he now fully looked back at her.

"I thought this was supposed to be a back and forth exchange. You are starting to ask a lot of questions." J smiled out the window as she said it. "Yes, for going on…" she started counting on her fingers for a moment "13 years now. I will assume you are not one, so you do not need to answer that question."

"Show me some of your work. What do you take pictures of?" Dean encouraged. Hoping she would. He wanted to see what kind of art this woman made. It would certainly help tell Dean a little more about her if he could study her interests. And you know what they say about photographs.

"Each one is worth a thousand words." He added. This made her smile.

"I take pictures of people, mostly. Maybe I'll show you some other time. You are kind of driving. It's also hard for me to show my work simply because I have no idea what to share or what's worth sharing. I have over a decade worth of it." She paused. "Tell you what. When we get back to The Roadhouse you ask Jo to show you some of her favorite images of mine. She has all the best ones."

Dean took a mental note. Intrigued beyond reason. He wanted to know what she found interesting enough to photograph. He remembered hearing somewhere that we take pictures of the things we are more afraid to lose. Dean now wondered if J's photography would reflect that particular observation or not.

"Now I get to ask _at least_ two questions because you were a glutton and asked three." J looked out the window for a few minutes, obviously pondering her question.

"Cats or dogs?"

Dean smiled. "Dogs. I've always wanted one. Never had the opportunity growing up. You know how this job is. Commitments tend to not work out."

"I prefer cats. I love dogs. They are always so happy and extroverted. They are goofy and loyal creatures. I love all animals, really. Cats just make me laugh more and jive more with my groove. And I can't stand the smell of dog. I'm kind of sensitive to it." J wrinkled her nose just saying it.

"Ok. Next question." J sat for a moment and pondered her options as she watched the scenery pass by the open window.

Dean was on the edge of his seat waiting to be asked the next question. He was interested where this was going to go. He had questions of his own, of course. Ones he was determined to ask and have answered. They were doing nothing but mounting and adding more to his burning curiosity. This was always a good tactic at the bar when he was picking up chicks. It never failed to at least break the ice.

Not to mention Dean did have a slight ulterior motive for starting this serious of question-asking. It was about time he made good on the things he promised of himself while J had been asleep in the back. It was also about to come back around and bite him in the ass before he had had any chance of getting anything good.

"Will you sing for me?" J asked boldly. There was no hint of trepidation in her voice or in her eyes. Dean looked over at her to judge exactly how serious she was being when he saw that she was back to looking at him rather than out the window. Green and brown orbs alight with the delight of his expression.

"Only if you sing with me." Dean responded without thinking. Once again entirely distracted by those incredible eyes.

He immediately began kicking himself. He NEVER sang in front of people; Sam didn't count. The only singing he did was in the car and _maybe _in the shower. But never loud enough to actually be heard. Any karaoke he did was when he was wasted and he never remembered any of the times Sam swore he got up on the mic and sang. He just hoped he had never been booed off the stage.

"That can be arranged." J said as she grabbed her bag and opened it. As she looked through it a thought occurred to Dean, and suddenly he was a bit more hopeful. He smiled to himself.

"I only have a cassette tape player, J. Any true classic car owner will never touch anything original. Including not modifying the original radio, meaning no auxiliary." Dean said with a knowingly smug tone in his voice.

J just turned to him and smiled, she had something in her hand that couldn't really see. Dean couldn't help but break eye contact with the road to smile back.

"Oh, I figured as much. You and this car are almost as famous as you and your brother. I have a cassette adapter. Don't worry." J's smile grew wider as Dean's smile grew smaller. She knew he had just used his only Get Out of Jail Free card. His swift thinking didn't get him anywhere. He had to hand it to her, though. She was prepared.

J took a cassette tape with a cord coming out of it out of her bag. She stuck it into the Impala's cassette player and set the radio before grabbing her phone and plugging the chord into her auxiliary outlet.

"Now let's see if this thing still works. I haven't used it since I needed it for my old car. I am still not entirely sure these things work on these classic systems." J scrolled through her phone, Dean felt a single ray of hope, for a moment before she settled on a song and pressed play.

The first few chords of Swine by Lady Gaga started to play through the cab's speakers and Dean's heart and facial expression fell.

"I bet you remember this song! Don't look so shook, Winchester. Learn how to take a joke." J said as she looked up from her phone after pausing it. She leveled another Look at Dean. She teased him with her words and her eyes.

He felt himself grow hot under the collar under her intense gaze. She giggled and Dean looked back at the highway, determined to not break eye-contact with it this time. It was starting to get dangerous in more ways than one. And he still had his questions to ask.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny." Dean said as sarcastically as he could. He hoped that by laying it on thick she wouldn't catch the fact that he now felt like his stomach had fallen out of his ass and had been left back on the highway.

_Straight ahead. Whatever you do, do not look over._

"Not sorry. I had to. It popped up in my recently played. At least we know it works!" The look of exaggerated excitement on her face made Dean giggle. The feeling of embarrassment subsiding substantially with the goofy look on J's face.

It was obvious she was trying to help him relax a bit more. The thought and feelings alone had Dean burning pink in the face for another reason. One he was not expecting. He did not have much time to think more of it before J interrupted him.

"Do you want to pick something more rock-like what's on the radio? Or maybe something more old school? What about country? Throw me a bone as to what I should pick. I've only just heard you sing once." J asked as she continued to scroll through her phone, considering other options.

***Author's Note: Please listen to Broken ft. Amy Lee by Seether before continuing with this chapter***

J stopped and looked at her phone for a movement before continuing, "Do you know the song Broken by Seether?"

"Actually, yeah. I do know that song. But it's not a duet. Are you just going to sing with me? How is that going to work?" Dean answered, a quizzical look on his face. He had to remember to keep his focus on the road in front of them.

She looked up from her phone with another dazzling smile on her face. Even from his peripheral vision is took his proverbial breath away. Dean did not think it was humanly possible for anyone to be this naturally attractive.

"I will assume you have never heard the version with Amy Lee?" J countered, those beautiful eyes shining brightly again. It seemed she had not noticed Dean's thoughts trailing away,

Dean felt a lump form in his throat. No, he had not heard the version with Amy Lee. Wasn't she that chick from that band? Evanesce or something?

He was about to find out. J pressed play as he tried to swallow around the obstruction that had formed in his throat. He was about to embarrass himself. He could feel it.

"Just sing it as you know it. Look for my hand signals. I'll do the rest." J encouraged as the first notes of the guitar sounded through the cab. Dean broke his eye contact and looked over at her with a torn expression on his face. He heaved a sigh and started with the song.

"I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh. I want to hold you high and steal your pain away. I keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well. I want to hold you high and steal your pain."

With each word Dean grew more confident in his voice, the lump disappearing. Now he looked back out the front window. Concentrating on just finishing the song. He snuck a peek over at J who took a deep breath and continued in with him through the next part of the song. Her voice an octave higher than his, their voices ringing with the harmony.

Dean had to tear his eyes away from her to make sure he didn't wreck. When had he looked away from the road? He was so distracted by what was happening he had almost forgotten they were going 75mph in the middle of nowhere.

Staring out the windshield once again, Dean was resolute on finishing the song and keeping his eye on the road, straight ahead. And most importantly off of the woman next to him. The magnetism he felt, not just in his eyes, could not just be one-sided.

"'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome. And I don't feel right, when you've gone away."

She stopped singing as he continued, "You've gone away. You don't feel me here anymore."

The loss of her voice drew Dean's attention again. At his last word she put her finger to her lips, signaling for him to stop. She carried on the song by herself now.

"The worst is over now and we can breathe again. I want to hold you high and steal my pain away. There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight! I want to hold you high and steal your pain."

This was definitely not the song Dean was used to. How had he not heard this version before? J sounded like an angel. Even considering she had been asleep not too long before this, she was able to keep up effortlessly. As her line drew to a close, she motioned to both of them.

Dean started singing again. Their voices harmonizing, almost ringing together.

"'Cause I'm broken when I'm open. And I don't feel like I am strong enough. 'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome. And I don't feel right when you're gone away."

There was an instrumental interlude where they just look at each other.

Dean looked back at the road as they both continued, "'Cause I'm broken when I'm open. And I don't feel like I am strong enough. 'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome. And I don't feel right when you're gone away."

Dean couldn't help it. He was compelled. He tore his eyes away from the road again during the final instrumental of the song, catching green and brown eyes with his. With that, the final chorus of the song began and they both continued.

Dean had to look away, but he could feel J's eyes on him as she sang.

"'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome. And I don't feel right when you're gone away. You've gone away. You don't feel me here anymore."

The chords of the song faded into the background. Dean couldn't look at J now even though he could still feel her eyes on him. She didn't say anything for a long moment.

Then she whistled and said "and you said you can't sing or that you're not that bad. I officially call bullshit. And that counts as me singing for you!" J said with another smile.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

The miles passed while Dean and J's conversation flowed. After the song, it seemed so much easier to talk. The lump that had formed in his throat all but forgotten. He much preferred to talking to singing, though. At least right now. He was finding it extremely easy to talk to her.

The small-talk questions continued, he wanted to get to know her a little bit better. On a more personal level. However, he was finding it hard to gather the guts to dive into any other questions he was burning to ask. He was thankful for the fact that they were still a way away from The Roadhouse.

He had plenty of time to ask the hard-hitting questions. And what better way than when they were stuck together in a confined space for the next few hours?

Before he could ask another question, distracted by his own train of thought, J beat him to it.

"What is somewhere where you have always wanted to go? A place, a city, a country? I know enough about you and your brother to know you've been crisscrossing this country for years. You probably know these highways and backroads as well, or probably better, than the truckers who have been doing this all of their working lives."

That last comment brought a smile to Dean's face as he continued to look out the windshield. Pondering her question now. All he did was travel. He had never really thought about where he would go if he had the choice and leisure to.

"Is there anywhere outside of the continental US that you want to see?" J asked while running her fingers lazily through her fiery hair. He glanced over as he caught the action in his peripheral vision. They didn't call this The Golden Hour for nothing. Dean caught himself staring and averted his eyes back to the road.

_There should be rules about looking that good without even trying. _Dean thought to himself before he answered.

"Well, I've always loved the beach. So, I'm going to say Hawai'i. Good luck getting me on a plane ever again. Been there done that."

J looked over at him with a quizzical expression on her face and an eyebrow raised so high she didn't need to ask the question.

"Sam and I exorcised a demon that was hell-bent on causing completely fatal plane crashes."

J's look turned to a look of shock and then to a look of horror.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you two were on the possessed plane that was on a collision course with disaster? And knew it?' A grin started to spread across her face as she started cackling in the passenger seat.

Dean pretended to look offended and affronted, "And that is a laughing matter why?"

"Only a Winchester would create and join a new version of The Mile-High Club. Who else do you know that has successfully exorcised a demon as 30,000 feet above the surface of the Earth?" J asked with so much sass Dean almost missed what she had said.

Dean felt his face pale at the thought of what J had said. Yes, it was in the past. He had done it, lived through it. Went on to fight and kill even more demons. But when you put it like that….

"Don't freak out on me, man!" J exclaimed as she saw the look of terror on Dean's face. "That takes some serious balls. Going up without knowing how you were going to come down. I can understand why you're so attached to driving. I much prefer it, too. But oh, the places we go…"

Dean started chuckling to himself at J's joke.

"A second ago you looked like you saw a ghost, now you're laughing. What did I say?"

Dean now busted out laughing at J's particular cliché idiom.

"My version of the Mile-High Club? And did you seriously just say I looked like I saw a ghost? I've seen too many of those sons of bitches to be afraid of one." Dean said as he continued to chuckle.

"Well, I'm glad you think I'm funny. He who said 'hell-bent' not two minutes ago regarding a demon." J said sarcastically as she reached over and shoved his shoulder gently in mock disgust.

Dean looked down at his shoulder where she had touched him, still feeling the warmth of her hand even though it was long gone by now. It was just a small, fleeting shove. Nothing more.

It still made his brain stutter for a slit second.

Before he could fumble his words, Dean said, "You make me laugh. You are very funny. You have a good sense of humor. Give yourself some credit. We're hunters. That was funny as fuck."

Dean did not miss how J's face fell when he said 'we're hunters.' How she looked down and away from him. He did not think it would be wise to press on that or even acknowledge that he had noticed. Instead, he asked another question.

"Where would you go? Anywhere in the world?"

"Italy and Greece." J said, almost before Dean had finished speaking.

"Damn! You didn't need to think about that one. Why?"

J smiled her crooked smile at him. "I have been to many places, already. I have been around this world multiple times and have been fortunate enough to see many things. The one place I know about most, I have yet to visit. Consider me something of an art history nerd. So, my geeky little heart lays within the crumbling ruins of Ancient Rome and Greece."

J trailed off as her smiled faded.

"I'm just boring you now. History is sometimes best left in books. Or so I have been told. Right now, it is one of those times. So, I will save you and stop myself. I tend to get over-excited."

J did not notice how the smile that had been growing on Dean's face had vanished just as quickly as hers had. He had been silently observing her face as she looked out ahead of them, unseeing.

Instead, he could tell her mind was far off in the places she was describing. He could see the joy the subject brought her. He also watched it fade away as she caught and stopped herself from continuing. Probably not the first time she had had to do this. A taught reaction.

The thought irked Dean more than anything. That someone would be able to interrupt and be the reason why that smile and that look in her eyes flared and then died out just as quickly. He promised himself he was going to do a little bit of research of his own, and then ask her about it again.

He wanted to be able to fully enjoy being able to sit down and observe her merely just talking about this subject. Watch that look in her eyes grow. See the passion for which he heard her speak. He was slightly grateful for the fact that she had stopped herself, he was driving and unable to give her and this conversation his full attention.

That and he knew absolutely nothing about Rome or Greece.

Dean made a mental note to ask more about Ancient Rome sometime in the near future, and to Google a few things first. He cleared his throat.

"Where have you been then? Where are these places you have been to?" Dean asked.

J paused for a second before she answered. She bit the inside of her cheek in thought. Eyes going distant again.

"The better question there is where haven't I been? I have not been to either poles. I have not been to South America, Asia, Africa, or Australia. Nor have I been to the Mediterranean."

"Well okay then, Miss Trendsetter over here." Dean said with a wave of his wrist, a tut of his tongue, and a smile on his face.

J looked back over at Dean, that smirk returning as she countered.

"Your job has you all over this country. My job has me all over the world. Monsters don't just exist here. And the ones that exist here are not always the same as in other places. Could you imagine a Yeti in Arizona?"

The smile on J's face grew wider as the thought of foreign monsters hit Dean with full force. Which must have been apparent on his face.

Of course, it made perfect sense that the world would be full of monsters of some kind. Monsters that he would know nothing about. Dean had just never really thought about exactly how small his world was compared to the entirety of it.

"What is the craziest monster you have ever gone up against, then?" Dean asked. Intrigued at this world full of monsters.

"An illegally-trafficked Sphinx that some asshole let loose in Tallinn, Estonia. That was a hard hunt. Not only are Sphinxes hyper-intelligent creatures, that city is nothing but high walls with long, narrow walkways where we had it trapped. But still, talk about a maze."

"A _what!?_" Dean exclaimed. He attempted to look over at J to be sure she was serious. The sun was making its last appearance as Dean glanced over. He was momentarily blinded before abandoning that attempt at looking at her during her brief pause. Her voice conveyed what he would have guessed to be a more serious face at her tone. She was talking business now.

"A Sphinx. You know, body of a lion, head of a human? That giant statue in Egypt? They are very few and far between. They have been hunted to near-extinction by our kind. Your kind and mine. Like dragons. I heard the last one was killed some 800 years ago in some Eastern European country." J ignored Dean's look of utter shock and continued.

"This hunt lasted a whole 4 days. It was the longest job I have ever worked. So many witnesses. Of course, we had to alter all of their memories. And that's only after we figured out who had seen what. Then again, I make it easier than truth serum, but I am only one person. There was some major cleanup that lasted weeks. On-site and at the office after that one."

Dean looked back over at J as she trailed off. She looked out the window. Her lips pressed firmly together in the universal sign of I Have Said Too Much. He quickly came to the conclusion that he would not push the subject any further. He had already heard enough to process for the night. At the very least.

"_Seriously? Dragons?" _Dean thought to himself as he looked out the window in the now silent car. He pushed the thoughts from his mind as he came back to old questions he had wanted to ask before all of these new ones arose.

Dean took the plunge and one of the questions he had be so resolute on asking. The easiest one he could think of.

"So, J, how did you get into the whole hunting business?" Dean asked as conversationally as he could. He couldn't think of a better place to start. It was a question and an answer everyone in this business asked and told over and over and over again until they could speak their story backward.

Dean was not expecting the reaction he was getting from J.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

J was silent long enough for Dean to look over at her. She had her bottom lip between her teeth and an expression on her face that reflected an inner battle. Her eyebrows knitted together like Sam's did when he was seriously considering something. She looked torn. Worried.

"You know, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. That's cool, too. You can always pass on a question. No need to explain why." Dean added quickly.

"Remember when I said some history should remain in books? This applies." J sighed. "It's not that I don't want to tell you. It's not that at all. It's _what _should I tell you? How much should I tell you? The long version or the short version? What details are pertinent, poignant, and which ones are too much? You have observed my lack of filter currently and know I do not have much of one at the moment. You are, and can be, quite disarming." She huffed. Dean just raised his eyebrows at her comment.

She paused for a second before continuing, at half the volume she had been speaking previously, "Will you hate me after I tell you. If I decide to tell you The Full Truth and nothing but The Truth?" J said quietly. Timidly. Almost to herself. This was very unlike her, or what Dean had been expecting to happen.

This was definitely not what he had had in mind when he had posed what he thought had been a simple question that usually had semi-simple responses.

"Woah, what do you mean 'will you hate me after I tell you'!? There is no way I could hate you, J. You've saved not only my ass more than once, but Sam's as well. I don't forget things like that." Dean said automatically. He didn't even have to think about it. There was no way he could possibly_ hate_ J.

This did not quell his want to know what she was withholding from him. What could possibly be that bad as to warrant this kind of reaction? This fear? He knew no matter how bad whatever this was, there was nothing on this earth that would make him hate the woman sitting in his passenger seat. This sudden realization was no shock. It only strengthened Dean's resolve.

J continued to look straight out the front window. Now she seemed to be the one determined to not make eye contact. She put her elbow on the open window and her hand over mouth as she thought. Her gaze was a million miles away whenever he chanced a glance over. Dean could see her lips moving slightly but could hear no sound.

She stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity to Dean. She just sat there. Completely still. Staring straight ahead. Almost entirely not present there in the car with him. The action of her hair swirling around her in the breeze only made her look more statuesque. More stoic than he had ever seen her before.

He wasn't about to push, but man he wanted her to start talking. He was done wondering. He wanted to know. But he was not going to mess this up by breaking the silence. The ball was in her court.

The last thing he wanted to do was to fuck it up by saying something and then scaring her off for good. Dean was determined to do whatever it took to keep J around.

It was another moment before J finally broke her silence.

"I'll keep it simple. I will tell you the truth. But know I am going to withhold a lot of information. And I mean a lot of it. This is all so involved. There is so much to this, it will take a few days of just talking to fill you in on the history alone." J sighed.

"I will tell you the whole truth another time. That I do promise. I will give you the chance to ask your questions. I can only hide my truth for so long. And I think of anyone you have proven you deserve and have the right to know. Especially to ask the questions I am going to deny you now." J said. Her tone was monotone and she did not look happy to be talking.

"Sometime, like when we are not driving in the middle of BFE and you have the power to pull over and kick me out." J said with a dry laugh. Dean recognized the self-loathing tone. He was still taken aback by what she had just said.

"I would never kick you…" Dean only managed to get out half of what he had to say before J tore her gaze away from the highway for the first time, and silenced him with a look of her flashing eyes. He was interrupting and starting in on a tangent she obviously did not want to go down.

"Do you want me to answer or not?" Those honey-covered emeralds held so much pain in them. It was as if time itself hurt her. He was afraid if he kept her going for much longer, she wouldn't tell him anything. Dean could only nod his head with his reply.

J took a deep breath.

"You could say hunting is my family business, too. You could also say it's in my blood. Actually, it is in my blood. Literally. My mom was gifted like I am. My father was a world-famous hunter. Even before they met. I'm something of a legacy." J said quietly. She was looking straight ahead again.

"I know what that's like." Dean said. Hoping that if he offered up information she wouldn't feel as anxious as she looked about sharing with him. Even though he saw nothing to be freaked out about, yet. "Having it run in the family, at least. Dad taught us everything we know after our mom was killed by that demon. Raised us like soldiers. Ever since then we have been hunters. It's kind of all we know. I barely remember what it was like when she was still alive. When life was still normal."

J chuckled to herself, "The Winchester's Story is one of legend, my friend. Everyone and their brother knows about you and your family history. Even my…" she paused, obviously searching for the right word or turn of phrase. "colleagues know about you. And we are worldwide." J continued after her brief moment of pause.

"Your dad has more of a reputation in the hunting community than you think. Some know more than others, of course. It runs on both sides of your family, as a matter of fact. Not a lot of people know that. I know John didn't know about the Campbells. I'm not even sure if you or your brother know…"

"I still don't see any reason for me to be kicking you out of my car..." Dean said as he suddenly looked over at J with raised eyebrows. He had said this before J had fully finished saying what she had said.

He was struck dumb for a moment, just staring at her. A look of realization blooming on his face as the last statement J made. No one ever mentioned his mother or her family before. Mainly because of what happened to her. No one had ever mentioned anything like that and the mere thought was enough to cause a non-reaction response in Dean. His mind was reeling.

Because he simply did not know what to do. Or say.

_What the hell did she just say?_

As the wheels in Dean's mind started working in a new way, he managed to look over at J again to ask "Come again?", his voice breaking, before she interrupted.

"I promise to tell you everything. In time. I have already said too much. You strip me of my filters. I apologize. You'll have all the time in the world to ask me all the questions you want. And I will give you all the answers that I have. Just not right now." J sighed heavily and put her face in her hands.

Dean was still speechless and just wanted her to keep talking. To try and make some sense out of all this. After a moment she looked up and out of the windshield again. It was another moment before she spoke again.

"I'm trying to tell you only part of the truth, Dean. I don't want to get kicked out of this car! I know I keep saying too much, I keep giving you more questions than answers. And I'm so sorry!" J motioned to the rolling hills and the nothingness surrounding them, a terribly pained look on her face as he realized what she was referring to.

J sighed heavily and put her face in her hands again and made a frustrated sound almost between a scream and a growl. If Dean had not already been so preoccupied with the conversation and the never-ending stream of questions, he would have found it inherently hot as hell.

"I'm so sorry, Dean. I am dancing around the subject and also saying shit I have no right saying without an explanation. I admit I am stalling telling you, getting it out there. I don't just easily admit this, either. It is my most heavily guarded secret. One I would die over. It took me _YEARS_ to tell Jo and Ellen. They had it mostly figured out by the point I told them… About everything. I'm having a harder time over here than I think you realize. I feel like I have already told you way too much."

Dean looked over at her again. Looking at her more seriously this time. He noticed her hands were in her lap now. In fists. And that they were shaking. There was a pained look in her eyes that was deeper than anything he had previously seen before. He knew she was not lying. She was genuinely terrified.

"I want to tell you, Dean. I really do. I certainly do not want to lie to you. Part of me doesn't because I am genuinely afraid of your reaction. A hunter's reaction. Another part of me wants to get it over with and have the judgment be passed." J sighed and put her face into her hands again. Hair falling down around her.

"I don't want you to hate me." Dean heard it, but he knew she had not meant for him to.

"J, please just tell me. Everything else can wait. All of my questions can wait. I made a promise to myself to get to know you better. This is me trying." Dean said. He turned his gaze out the window. _I also think I would be incapable of hating you even if I wanted to. _He continued, though only to himself.

Silence hung in the air. Dean was determined to not say a word until J had responded in some way, shape, or form. Once again afraid that a single word might ruin everything.

"I'm a witch. You are correct when you say that I am not human. Not entirely human, anyway. You were right about that much." J's eyes were straight ahead. Anywhere, but at Dean. Waiting for his reaction. Her body was tense. He could see nothing but absolute terror in everything about her. Her body and her face radiated uncertainty and anxiety. She was waiting for the bomb she had just dropped to explode.

Dean could not blame her. This was one hell of a fucking bomb to drop.

He did his best to keep his composure and he kept his features and body language as relaxed as he possibly could after hearing what J had said. He was slowly taking it in. However, it wasn't registering quite right. J. A _witch._ She had every right to be afraid.

If this was true, then she _was_ something that he hunted. His mind was spinning trying to take in what she had just said. This had to be a joke. There was no way J was a witch. Sam and Dean had hunted enough of them to know one. Right?

Now certain things were starting to fall into place. Her ability to mind read. Was this how J is able to command people and attention like she does? This also explained her knowledge of monsters and hunting techniques that were not exactly run-of-the-mill. It would actually explain more than one thing that had been on Dean's mind since he met her.

"Please explain." Was all Dean said. He was desperate for J to elaborate. He was grappling for something to hold onto in this sea of knowledge he found himself currently drowning in.

"I am not some stupid human who sold their soul for magic powers. My powers don't come from a book, or a demon, or a deal, or anything else for that matter. I am not harnessing dark magic to do my dirty work, and I do not mess with the Natural Order of things. I have made no deal. I kill demons, I don't work with them." J said in a rush. She spoke quickly and eloquently. Like she wanted to say what she needed to say, say it fast, and have it be understood before Dean changed his mind and kicked her out.

The thought did flash through his mind, even though he knew he would never be able to do it. Not to the woman sitting beside him. Not after everything.

J continued on after taking another deep breath. Not giving Dean any time to interject. "I am a naturally-occurring witch. If it is easy enough to know there are people out there that would sell their souls for powers like mine, how hard of a stretch is it to know we actually exist outside of that faction? That there are those who are just born that way?"

This perspective made Dean think more analytically. This is like saying Angels exist because he knows there are Demons. He knows this to be fact, not speculation in the slightest. There is a Devil because he knows Hell exists. So why would it be so hard to stretch that method of thinking onto this subject?

J paused for a moment. It was obvious she wanted to give Dean time to absorb and process everything, but she was still eager to say what she had to say. As if Dean was going to change his mind if she stopped long enough to give him the option.

"In fact, I am a descendant of two of the most ancient of magical bloodlines, but I'm not getting into that now. What I mean to say is that my powers are organic, and they are mine. I was born with them. I am what I am and you cannot teach it, only craft it. Mold it. You cannot learn how to be like me. You cannot get this out of some book, or out of some deal, or even from the Gods themselves_._"

"Wait, so there are real witches out there? Like Harry Potter? Or like the Salem Witch Trials?" Dean asked rapid-fire, sudden thoughts occurring to him, flabbergasted. His mind was whirling still. He would not be surprised if there was smoke coming out of his ears.

J finally broke her stare out the window and looked at Dean with an eyebrow raised.

"You could put it like that. I guess. What you are used to hunting are just mere humans that want the power we possess naturally. I can guarantee you that you have never hunted a real witch. Only a regular person. Only for them to be able to handle it, it takes the help of dark magic or of some other nefarious means. I am sure you can tell me many a story about the ones we both hunt. We usually get to them before the average hunter does, though."

J started laughing now.

"I tell you I'm a bonified witch and the first thing you come at me with Harry Potter. Not with 'can you do any spells' or 'do magic for me' or anything like that? Really?" J barked out. "I'm suddenly not afraid of you ditching me on the side of the highway anymore." She smiled at him as she continued to laugh, albeit nervously.

"No, I'm not going to do that. But you have to explain more. I am interested. Ancient bloodlines? What's up with that?" Dean replied.

"Again, I will explain another time. I will answer all of your questions. Even if you bring me a notebook full of them." Dean leveled A Look at her, almost threatening for more information. "_I PROMISE_." J finished with sarcastic sincerity. "I know it's a lot to take in, and I really don't want to overwhelm you with information overload about something you didn't even know was a thing."

She did have a point. This was a lot to take in. At the same time, he considered why it was so hard to believe that people would want to be something they are not. Something they know of and aspire to become or become better than. It has always been a thing for humans. Be more than what they were ever meant to be. Some take this to the extreme. Monsters he understood. Humans were a different story.

This is why he hated hunting monsters that were really just people. You'd think all the information that monsters were real would keep someone up at night. No. Dean Winchester was kept up by the thought that some people actually _wanted_ to be monsters.

"You know… it really is not that far of a stretch when you think about it." Dean finally said after several long and agonizingly silent minutes. By now he could feel how tense J had become in the seat next to him. He only really noticed when she relaxed into the seat again. A small and tired smile on her face.

"I was expecting this to be a lot harder than it turned out to be. I tend to prolong my misery. Turns out the waiting and the staying away thing was just torturing myself and making everything a whole hell of a lot worse." J breathed out as she leaned her head back on the headrest, running her fingers through her hair as she spoke.

"Don't worry. I'm still having a mini-stroke over here trying to wrap my brain around what you just told me. A witch. Son of a bitch. Really? Wow, that's something else." Dean replied. He was being truthful. He was genuinely surprised, but at the same time, something deep inside already knew.

Whether it was his inner hunter or just his human instincts, Dean knew J was telling the truth. She was not human and everything seemed to scream that fact now. This fact changed nothing at the same time that it changed absolutely everything.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that terrified expression cross J's face again.

"Please don't tell Sam. I will tell him in my own time. Maybe. Some day. Honestly, I don't think it's important for him to know." J said seriously as she leveled her duo-toned gaze at him for the first time in what felt like hours.

Dean glanced back and half smiled at her. "I promise not to tell him as long as you tell him in front of me so I can see his reaction. You will need to tell him sooner rather than later. He will pick up on it. You better hope you get to tell him before he figures it out on his own. Why tell me then if you think it not important for_ him _to know?"

"I just think it's important for you to know exactly what you are getting yourself into." J sighed.

Dean's smile wavered slightly and he hoped J had not noticed. He thought more in-depth about what she had just said. How was Sam going to handle this information? He did not want to think about it right now so he decided to go back to questions game as a distraction.

"Since you were so forthcoming with me, I guess this means you get an extra question. Or five. Go ahead and shoot." Dean said as he looked back in the rearview, checking for other cars.

"You can drop this question game charade, dude. I use it to pick up dudes and chicks, you use it to pick up chicks. Now you're obviously using it as a reason to get to ask me questions so just go ahead and ask. I literally just told you my biggest and most guarded secret. Ask anything you want. I won't bite. Hard." J finished with a smirk.

"Ouch. It hurts to be found out and called out." Dean looked over at J, the last rays of the setting sun were bouncing off of her skin and hair. She was truly radiant. He could have sworn she was actually glowing there for that moment he stole to look before her eyes came and caught his.

"I'm going to need some aloe for that burn." Dean continued as he broke the gaze and looked out the windshield, flipping on the headlights.

"Or…" J said and trailed off. Her change in tone and pause made Dean glance over again with a quizzical look on his face. She was worrying the hem off her shirt in her fingers and staring off into the growing darkness.

"Or what...?" Dean asked slightly curiously when she failed to elaborate for several more moments.

"Or you could soothe that burn with a nice drink or two; with me… Just not at The Roadhouse. For obvious reasons I want to keep away from hunters with the conversations we are bound to have."

Dean looked at her with a surprised expression on his face. He did not know what he has been expecting, but it had not been this. He was still not quite understanding what she was implying.

"I would also tell you everything else you need, and want, to know. You'd have the chance to ask me as many questions as you want. I would also be entirely honest on any questions you have about the information I just told you…" J finally said quietly.

The dawning of what she meant came flooding over Dean in such a wave J must have felt it for she did not wait for a response from him before busting out laughing.

"I'll take that as a yes. It's a date then. I know of the perfect place. Have you ever been to a Jazz club before?


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

A few days later Dean found himself in an awkward position. He was standing in front of one of those dressing room tryptic mirrors looking at his own reflection. Only he was not wearing anything close to what he considered normal.

Or comfortable.

He was in an old-fashioned, dark grey, pinstriped, three-piece suit in some 2nd hand store in the city center of the closest shopping district to The Roadhouse. A few dozen miles away. As per J's suggestion.

Dean sighed as he examined himself in the mirror, the different angles it added was not helping him decide which suit he was going to go with. This one certainly fits the best. He adjusted the collar. He always hated dressing up. It was the one thing Dean hated most about the job.

Playing some suit cop to get answers.

When J had asked him on a date to a Jazz Club, he wasn't expecting there to be any rules. Or a freaking dress code for that matter. For this reason, he was thankful Sam had agreed to come with him and help on his search for an outfit, as well as one for himself.

J had instructed him to dress the part. Meaning 1940's dress code. Also meaning Dean was entirely out of his depth and had no idea what he was doing or what he was going to do that night of the actual date.

If she had requested that he dress in this fashion, Dean could only imagine the club they were going to be meeting at. Or what J would be wearing. She must be going 1940s style, too. His mind began to wonder at the possibilities when Sam snapped him out of it.

"I think I like that one the best. It fits you perfectly and that color really brings out the green in your eyes." Sam offered without prompt as he adjusted his own suit.

"Aww thank you, Sammy. I am glad someone appreciates my eyes." He said sweetly back to his brother as he batted his eyelashes exaggeratingly at him.

"Hey, man. You asked me to come and help you with this. So, I am." Sam was busy staring in his own mirror adjusting the tie on his own three-piece find.

Sam had asked to come along to this 'new' club and J had agreed. This is the part where the rules came in. So long as Sam stayed on his side of the club, and did not interact with them and just left them alone, he was allowed to come, too. J had looked shameful when she admitted part of the reason why she had suggested this club, to begin with, was to get away from everyone. Sam being one of those people. She did not want him overhearing anything.

Dean was thankful that J was so laid back, forthcoming, and flexible. He thanked her for thinking of their privacy but also thinking of his brother whom he didn't want to leave alone at The Roadhouse. Especially, when there was a completely new place a few towns over, one they had never even known about, that he could tell Sam was seriously excited about checking out.

He also agreed that Sam needed to stay as far away from them as possible. Following J's confession to being a witch he had had his own freakout, unbeknownst to J, in the shower that night. She had confessed to him about being a _witch. _How exactly was he supposed to handle that information? How was he supposed to expect Sam to handle that information when the time came?

He himself had spent so long in the shower going over everything, that he had failed to even notice the water running cold. Only Sam pounding on the door brought Dean back from his slight mental break over understanding and dealing with the information presented to him. It unnerved Dean as much as it intrigued him. He had so many questions.

Sam being Sam knew something was up, as he always eventually picked up on whatever it was. Dean knew he would figure it out on his own. Sooner rather than later. He just hoped J got to him before Sam came to his own conclusions. He knew the conclusions he himself would have drawn. Based solely on the information of observation. He could only imagine how Sam would feel about all this.

Dean was more than desperate to ask more questions but was kept from doing so because his giant of a brother was usually around, and mum was the word at the moment. Best to act like nothing changed. Like no new information had been shared. At least at this new place, there would be a lack of hunters to overhear, too. He did not think that was a coincidence or an accident.

J may have had many more reasons for picking this particular place than Dean previously considered. First, he thought it was just to get away from Sam, Ellen, and Jo. He also considered it a mischievous way of getting him into this monkey suit.

If he was being honest with himself, this was not half bad and he was really looking forward to what this night would bring.

Dean was even nervous. To an extent. Only to an extent, he would admit to, of course.

This date would give Dean the chance he wanted to get to know as much about this enigmatic woman as he could. _A freaking witchy woman. _He was also secretly hoping it would go well enough to earn a second date. Though, he was wearier of this hope due to his serious lack of legitimate dates he had been on. He just knew he wanted J to like him.

So, when he was given a time, place, and a dress code, he had not objected at all. Until he completely wrapped his head around what a dress code entailed. There was a small panic attack at the realization of what he had agreed to at that point. It was then he had gotten Sam involved. Only telling him about the date and nothing more.

Not that Sam needed any more information than that. He actually seemed kind of relieved when Dean told him about his and J's date. Now here they were, both looking like they raided their grandfather's closet that had not been touched in half a century.

One of the shopkeepers came up with a pair of hats. She had been key in helping them both find proper attire that would at least pass for a Jazz club in the 1940s. She was very knowledgeable about the fashion and what she had in stock that would work or would suit their needs.

It had been a lot easier for Dean than it had been for Sam. Due to his height, the shopkeeper had to make do with some modifications to other garments to bring Sam's outfit together. The end result was the same. Two dapper gentlemen who just needed a couple of pretty dames on their arms.

Both Sam and Dean looked like the definition of the phrase The Cat's Meow. Dean took the old Stetson Fedora from the shop keeper and put it on his head. Suddenly the look was complete. A pair of dress shoes and he could have just walked out of one of those old black and white crime movies.

Sam took the other hat, a newsboy cap, and placed it on his head.

The brothers looked from their reflections to each other. Sam smiled at him. Maybe this wasn't a bad idea. Maybe this whole dress code thing wouldn't be the end of the world after all.

Dean took another look in his mirror, this time from the side, and smirked at his own reflection.

_Damn, I clean up good._

Sam and Dean walked into the dimly lit jazz club called The Red Lady at 8 PM later that night. It was almost as if they had stepped back in time. Right into a Film Noir. Only in full color.

There was a live band with a very pretty strawberry-blonde in a red sequin dress singing an old jazz tune in the back corner. Her dress glinted like Dorothy's ruby-red slippers in the light of the spotlight. There was a dance floor in front of the small, raised stage. A chandelier hanging above it rather than the usual disco ball. There were a few couples dancing almost swing-style to the upbeat tune of the song.

Along one side of the club ran an old-fashioned mirrored bar. It ran the entire length of the room. Most of the barstools were already taken with patrons who all seemed to have been plucked right off the streets of the 1940s and dropped here. It was a good thing they had taken J's advice on the 2nd hand shop, and the dress code. It didn't seem like there was a single person in here from the current century.

High-backed booths clad in black leather ran along the opposite wall and there were a dozen or so small tables between the bar and the booths leading up to the dance floor and stage. The chairs at the tables were upholstered with what looked like red velvet, the same as the barstools at the bar. About half of the booths and tables were already taken, even at such an early hour.

Dean noticed Sam do a double-take on the strawberry-blonde up on the stage as they scanned the room. It was starting to look like he wouldn't have to worry about Sammy getting lonely and feeling like a third wheel tonight after all. The singer had seemed to take notice to the giant that was his brother already and there was now a flirty smile on her face as she finished the last of her song.

The bar quieted in conversation as the audience clapped.

"Bar side of the room is your side; booth side is ours. The dance floor is neutral ground. I'm supposed to be meeting J here at the front. It sounds like she either had a table or a booth already reserved." Dean looked over at Sam to make sure that what he had just said had registered, then past to the strawberry-blonde now staring his brother down from the stage as she started her next song.

Sam nodded in agreement, barely listening to Dean, eyes fixed on the woman in the red dress. "If we need to contact each other call or text. Blah blah blah. We already went over all of this like 100 times. Just relax and have fun. Get to know J better. I know you have been dying to since you first met the chick. I'm glad she seems just as eager." Sam said quickly, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Go and have your first _REAL_ date." He teased, with a short laugh, over his shoulder as he walked towards the bar and away from Dean.

Dean watched him walk to the end of the bar that was closest to the stage and take the stool at the very end. The Lady in Red up on stage watched Sam just as carefully as he walked over, took a seat, ordered himself a drink, and turned back towards her and the stage.

Now Dean was just standing to the side of the bar with his hands in the pockets of his trousers. He had been told, all via text, that J would be coming and collecting him from this spot shortly after they arrived; and Sam had gone off on his own. But he also remembered that night at The Roadhouse where he hadn't even recognized her at first.

Dean's eyes slowly scanned the small crowd, determined not to make that mistake again. He analyzed the face of every woman he could see and came to the conclusion that J was not here yet. The question still remained. Would he even recognize her tonight when he did see her? He barely recognized himself when he looked in the mirror behind the bar. Slicked back hair under a dark, midnight-blue fedora, matching three-piece suit, and shoes that had an almost mirror-like finish from the amount of buffing he had done to them.

Dean had definitely put a lot of effort into his appearance tonight. Which was saying something. So much so Sam had even made more than a few comments, calling him Deana. The truth was he had been thinking about that night with that Pretty Boy Witch at The Roadhouse. J was capable of being The Drop Dead Gorgeous One in any room she wished to be in.

He wanted to look good. He wanted J to think that he looked good. That they would look good together… He felt like he looked good. Maybe not as good as he would have hoped. All things considered; Dean Winchester cleaned up nicely. But if J was capable of looking like _that, _how she did that night at the Roadhouse,she deserved a date who looked, or at least was trying to look, just as good.

At least the looks he was getting from some of the female patrons, and even some male ones as well, were boosting his confidence more and more as the minutes passed. Dean felt like he was doing more than satisfactory at at least looking the part. He turned to the bar to order a drink while he waited when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

A very pretty blonde was sliding onto the barstool at the end of the bar right next to where Dean was standing. He had not noticed her walk up next to him somehow. He must have been more preoccupied than he thought. He was certainly distracted, trying to spot J before she magically appeared next to him.

The new-comer eyed him up and down hungrily and without hiding it. Dean smiled when he realized there was no difference in height when she was sitting down on the barstool versus when she was standing up.

This stranger must have taken that as her cue.

"Well, hello there, big boy. I don't recall ever seeing you around here before. My name is Madison."

Dean rolled his eyes so hard inside he was surprised that he had kept himself from actually physically doing it. He felt annoyed by this woman already. His interests were not even in this room. Not yet at least. Even if he were here on a mission to pick up his usual next one-night stand, this already-drunk woman would not be his first, second, nor even third choice.

"Hello, Madison. My name is Dean. I'm actually- "

"We'll have two whiskeys over here!" Madison rudely called to the bartender, effectively cutting him off at the same time. Dean saw the frown under the bartender's pencil mustache as he grabbed two glasses, eyeing them both.

Dean made eye contact with him and motioned his apologies. "Make that a double." Dean added, throwing a bill into the tip jar. The bartender gave him a small smile. The bartender could tell when a fellow was in over his head. And Dean was certainly there.

"Coming right up, sir." The bartender said as he grabbed a bottle of amber liquid.

All Dean had time to do was look back at Madison before the bartender was in front of them with the two glasses and a bottle of whiskey.

"Neat or on the rocks?" Asked the pencil-mustache-clad bartender.

"Neat." Replied Dean at the same time Madison said "On the rocks."

They looked at each other and laughed. Madison was laughing at the fact that they had spoken at the same time, Dean was laughing at the fact that this woman liked watered-down whiskey.

The bartender handed Dean his double whiskey and poured some ice into Madison's glass before pouring her drink and handing it to her.

Madison must have mistaken Dean's mocking laugher as flirtatious laugher. She grabbed her glass and took a sip, eyeing him the whole time. A smug look in her eye.

She set her glass down on the bar and leaned into Dean as he went to take his first sip, gulp maybe, of his own whiskey. He pulled his glass away and physically leaned away from her as she got uncomfortably close. Did this chick seriously not get personal space?

"So, what is a fine gentleman like yourself doing around these parts. It's not too often we get a newbie here. Particularly one of your… caliber…" she tried whispering in his ear. She trailed off as she took another swig of her drink. The ice shifting in the glass, spilling some of the amber liquid over her chin.

_So, this is what it's like to be a woman. Oh, my god… _Dean thought to himself, half mortified, half shocked.

"Actually, I'm here meeting someone." Dean said, thankful for this to not only be true but also for how fast Madison turned from being perfectly friendly to downright cold.

"You could have said something, asshole." She said as she stormed away.

"You didn't give me a chance to really say anything." Dean said more to himself than anything as she stomped away. He pulled out his wallet again to retrieve more money to pay for this round of unexpected drinks. He took a few bills and threw them over the counter of the bar when he made eye contact with Pencil-stache again.

As Dean was putting his wallet away, he looked back up to the stage at the back of the club. His plan was to find his brother and assess how he was doing with the pretty singer in the red dress. He did not plan on looking over and seeing J blowing a kiss to said strawberry-blonde as she walked towards the dance floor on the opposite side of the club.

There was no way Dean could have missed her. Even if he had tried.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

J walked confidently across the dance floor. Everyone seemed to dance around her as she somehow managed to make it through the dancers in a straight line. Her emerald green and honey brown eyes had already found Dean's by the time she had reached its edge.

He could have sworn a spotlight appeared out of nowhere to follow and highlight each of her movements as she reached and stood at the edge of the now still dance floor. Her presence now taking its full effect. Silence had fallen like a blanket over the crowd. The only sounds now were from the band still playing in the corner. It seemed as if every pair of eyes in the joint was now on this one woman.

And this one woman only had eyes for him. Dean gulped at the large lump that had formed in his throat. The power and intensity of her gaze, and the small smirk on her red lips, raising his body temperature substantially. His mouth went dry.

Everyone that had fallen abruptly silent, was now obviously watching her. Male and female alike were staring. Some with awestruck expressions on their faces, others wore looks of jealousy, while still others looked as if they were wrestling with which team they wanted to be on. A few looked entirely dumbstruck.

Dean had thought of many an outfit in the days leading up to this moment. Hell, he had even Googled women's 1940s fashion to get an idea of what he was getting himself into. He had spent hours going through articles and Pinterest boards on the subject. Trying to get some idea of what he was in for.

Every single one was an insult to the image in front of him now. Dean could not even form a coherent thought as he observed the woman now staring him down from across the room. As if she herself wasn't the main attraction at the moment. Like she was blissfully unaware of everyone, but him.

The thought made Dean's stomach drop simultaneously as his heart swelled and thundered in his chest. J was indeed more than a sight to behold. He took a moment to fully take it in.

She wore a floor-length black evening gown with a slit going more than halfway up her thigh on one side. It was form-fitting and hugged every curve flawlessly. The straps of the gown fell elegantly off each shoulder in a sophisticated neckline.

Dean could only watch, speechless, as J started walking again. Now making her way towards him. Her swinging hips making the dress's movements even more dynamic and dramatic.

The dress itself created the unique effect that looked like black, shimmering liquid was continuously cascading around her shoulders, gathering at her small waist, before continuing to flow down to the floor where it fanned and flowed out behind her as she walked.

J walked with purpose and a confidence Dean had not seen of her. At least not this kind of self-assurance. She seemed to be radiating with more than just pure poise. If he was sure of anything it was that she was doing it again; for sure this time. She was commanding the room. In the way only J could.

This time he had a distinct feeling that she was doing it knowingly and very deliberately. Her walk reminded Dean of those supermodels that smoothly sashayed down the runway.

Something sinfully wicked this way comes.

From here, he could hear the fierce and imposing click, click, click of her stiletto heels. Even though she looked to be almost gliding towards him. By the look of fire in her eyes, he knew that she was more than aware that every eye was on her. She was commanding it. And that she was loving every second of it.

The smile that now spread across J's face was enough to elicit a low whistle from Pencil-stache. Dean had almost forgotten he was not the only one watching this display. Let alone from this angle. Or that it would have been easy for the bartender to think J was looking and smiling at him, instead of at Dean.

Dean felt the pyre of flame rise in his throat again. He immediately turned around to tell the dude to back off, but then the bartender spoke again before Dean could interject, "Whomever she is trying to impress tonight is one lucky person. I have never seen her look like that before."

Dean was lucky he had caught himself before he choked on thin air as he trapped the venomous words in his throat before they could come tumbling out. He turned back towards the direction of the dance floor before he could give the bartender a chance to see the blush rise in his face at his comment.

_Was J really trying to impress him?_

It was then that Dean looked J up and down quickly once more, and it was only then that he noticed them. The red-bottomed heels he had seen in her trunk the other day. That day they had driven all day, Sam driving her car, back to The Roadhouse. The really, really sexy ones that had caught his attention. Dean had forgotten about them. Until now.

Not only was J walking towards him with confidence and purpose, but she was also doing so in those six-inch stiletto heels. Her leg peaking seductively from the slit in her dress with every other step she took. This was not a coincidence. This was far from a coincidence. This was planned!

Their eyes locked again as the thought ran through his mind at how planned this really was. _It's a trap!_ It was then that J smirked his favorite smirk at him. She was telling him he was right. She _was _trying to impress him. He could feel it. And it was working.

Now J was just passing Madison on her way over to Dean. She lithely slithered right around the blonde, looking down into her face and winking with a devilishly sweet smile. J turned back to Dean, never skipping stride. Madison stopped in her tracks and turned around to keep staring, open-mouthed. She watched as J walked right up to Dean.

"Hello, Dean. Thank you for meeting me here." J said as she smiled shyly at him. They were almost eye-to-eye now with the added height of her heels. The confidence she had embraced mere seconds ago, gone. Dean realized her lips were the same shade of red as the bottoms of her shoes.

He found that sexy on an entirely new level.

She looked absolutely gorgeous. She gave Dean a distinct Brunette Jessica Rabbit vibe with her long hair, styled and swept to one side, sharp winged eyeliner, and red lips. Pure perfection embodied as a person.

The silence J had brought with her into the room had already begun to lift. The spell seemingly having been broken.

Dean noticed the smile spread across Pencil-stache's face from out of the comer of his eye. He glanced over at him, who then motioned for Dean to look in the other direction. Behind J. Dean looked over J's shoulder long enough to catch the heated glare Madison was now giving J to her back.

As Madison turned her back to them to walk away with an ugly sneer on her face, they all distinctly heard her say "Ouch!" as she went to grab at the back of her head.

Madison looked wildly around, looking for the cause or the culprit of her distress. A few people in the vicinity turned to look for a moment before joining back into their conversation.

Not finding anything or anyone that would have touched her, Dean watched as the two women made eye contact again. Dean felt it this time. And it was familiar. An electric pulse seemed to radiate from J at the same time a loud smacking sound was heard.

This time Madison's mouth dropped wide open as her hands flew up to the side of her face. Like she had just been slapped. The sound drew a few glances from people in the immediate area, but nothing more as there was nothing to see.

There was only a look of astonishment on her face as she stared back at J, who just kept that sickly-sweet smile on her face. The side of Madison's face under her hand started to turn pink. The look on Madison's face then turned to pure fear before she hastily retreated back into the club, hands still cupping her reddening face as she went.

The chatter of the club starting to really pick back up again after it's moment of silence at J's appearance. All seeming to be going back to normal after the slight interruption. Everyone was seemingly entirely unaware of the bizarre exchange that has just happened.

J giggled and smiled to herself as said quietly said, "Bitch had it coming." So only Dean could hear.

Dean looked from her, back over her shoulder at where he had last seen Madison's retreating form, then back at J. A shocked look on his face.

"That was you, wasn't it? That whole thing was all you!"

J bit her lip and looked back into Dean's face. Gauging his reaction. She nodded once as she looked around. Making sure no one was listening in.

"Hell, yeah it was. That bitch had her thoughts all over what's not hers. But who can blame her? I mean, look at you. And you were looking pretty single over here from where I was standing. A little hair pulling never did anyone any harm, anyway." J winked at him before her expression turned serious. "Though, she was just downright disrespectful after that. So, I slapped her."

Dean just stared. Unsure of what to say. His mind immediately went to Audrey at the diner. Did J have something to do with that, too? Just as he was beginning to form questions for her she interrupted him.

"Hold that thought. Or should I say thoughts? Let me get us set up first." J said as she turned towards the bar.

"Hey, Dave. How's business tonight?" J asked Pencil-stache, whose real name must have been Dave.

Dave gave her a knowing smile. "Busy as always, Jules. You will explain this to me later." Dave said as he stole a quick glance over her shoulder at Dean.

Dean nodded politely and smiled back at him. He was thankful that this Dave guy had not just caught him staring at J's perfect ass. Dean had been practicing his gratitude in the form of this flawless dress when he had been caught entirely off-guard by something Dave had said.

He had called J 'Jules', not J.

"I'll explain whatever I feel like explaining, whenever I feel like explaining it, Daddy-O. Now, could you be a doll and get me two fresh glasses; and my bottle that I left earlier." J asked sweetly with an even sweeter smile.

"Oooo what special occasion is this?!" Dave said flamboyantly as he turned around and ran off clapping his hands together.

J laughed and then abruptly turned around and grabbed the drink out of Dean's hand before he could protest and put it back down on the bar.

"Hey!" was all Dean said with an affronted look on his face before J turned back around to him. Her eyes flashed.

She was doing it again. She had effectively silenced him with just a look. Dean just threw his hands up in defeat this time. He was definitely going to ask her about this little stunt she kept pulling.

"Don't worry you will thank me in a minute. I will not tolerate you drinking that swill tonight. Not under my watch." J said simply as Dave returned with two glasses and a mostly-full bottle of a dark red colored liquid in a bottle Dean did not recognize.

J reached over, giving Dean another perfect view of the assets, and grabbed a shot glass as Dave put the glasses and the bottle down on the bar.

Dean got a quick look at the label. He was sure that it wasn't in English.

J grabbed the bottle and uncorked it, grabbing the shot glass and filling it. Handing it over to Dave.

"This is for being an amazing friend. And for looking after my other friend who is at the other end of your bar, eyeing up Lucy something fierce. He's the younger brother to this one. Make sure she goes easy on him. I'll pick up his tab, but Lucy is on her own unless he wants to pick up hers."

Dave made somewhat of a spectacle trying to get a clear view of the other end of the bar where Sam was sitting.

"Oh, honey. I thought you said he was the little brother." Dave said with a smirk on his face as he turned back to J taking the shot glass and downing her offering.

Dave pulled a face and hissed.

"I said younger, not shorter." J giggled.

"Whew! We are about to get rowdy up in this bitch!" Dave exclaimed as he turned the shot glass over and put it down on the bar.

"Have fun, sweetheart." Dave said with a wink to J and a nod to Dean.

J grabbed and corked the bottle and grabbed the two clean glasses before looking back to Dean.

"Care to escort a lady to her table"

Dean quickly moved forward, taking the glasses from her and offering her his arm, which she took, curling her arm around his and resting her hand on his upper arm. Dean tried to ignore the shock of electricity that shot down his spine at her touch.

Together they made their way away from the bar and across the club.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

The club didn't quiet in the slightest this time. Although, Dean could feel all eyes on the pair of them. He could tell every person in the club was watching as they crossed it towards the booth in the far corner. It seemed J's 'effect' had yet to entirely wear off, Dean mused to himself. He purposefully made eye contact with a few people who quickly looked away, confirming his suspicions of being watched.

Dean could not help the feeling of smugness that overcame him as he felt J squeeze him arm even tighter. She was on _his_ arm. Not anyone else's. He could not help the smile that broke out on his face at the thought of this. He also could not help the possessive feelings he felt when he thought of the woman on his arm.

For one of the few times in his life, he wanted this to be a more lasting fixture of it. He wanted this woman around; he did not want to let her go. Metaphorically and physically speaking. This thought wiped the smile from his face as quickly as it came. Nothing good ever came from this feeling. Nothing in their lives was ever permanent.

He was foolish to think otherwise.

Disaster always came sooner or later to rip anything good from him. That much was inevitable. That was the price he paid for living the life of a hunter.

As he forced the thought from his mind, Dean made sure to seek out the only other familiar pair of eyes in the place. When he found them, the expression they were wearing was not what he had been expecting. Not in the slightest.

Sam was at the bar with his drink in hand, giving Dean the biggest of stupid grins he had ever given him.

_Is he drunk already? _Before Dean could think of anything else, J's arm slipped out of his, which took his attention away from Sam. The sudden feeling of cold and loss surprised him.

They had quickly arrived at the booth that was just off the dance floor in the corner. Away from any other tables, on the opposite wall as the bar. It could easily have fit four people comfortably in its worn-but-loved leather seats and had a small _RESEARVED _sign at the edge of the table.

Dean watched J put the bottle down on the table, she grabbed the glasses from him, and poured them both drinks.

Without looking up at him she stated, "Sam is not drunk. He was wishing you could have seen the look on your face." She smiled a cute half-smile before she continued. "Well, looks. He seemed to have been keeping tabs on you since I came in." J said nonchalantly as she slid into the booth, crossing her legs gracefully and adjusting her dress as she settled in.

Dean couldn't help but notice black stockings hugging her thighs, and the flash of a garter belt that held said stockings up.

She reached for her own drink before she finally looked up at Dean staring down at her.

Dean just stood there for a moment, lost in a whirlwind of thoughts, before J outright laughed. "Well, have a seat. You're making me nervous. And please have a drink. I feel bad for taking yours, but I think you will find this better than any whiskey you'll find at any normal bar."

Dean floundered for a moment before he burst out with "I'm sorry, it's just I don't think I want to know the looks on my face. I'm sure I have been quite expressive enough already. I don't do this very often."

Dean cringed, then smiled what must have been the most awkward smile of his life at the look on J's face. She was giving him time, space, and reassurance, all with just a simple, small, and inviting smile. His nerves almost evaporated as he looked into her beautiful face. He then sat down and pulled his glass toward him before grabbing the bottle itself to inspect it.

"Speaking of. What is this exactly? This has to be German. I can't even read it! As-back Err-alt? Never heard of it." Dean said, trying to change the subject as quickly possible.

It worked. J laughed a genuine belly-laugh and took her first sip as she eyed him, now with a smirk where the smile had been. "That is totally not how you say it, but okay. I will add that one to my repertoire. Taste it and tell me what you think it is. I'm interested to see what you think. I really hope you like it."

Dean eyed her back, sarcastically suspicious, before he started analyzing the drink the way he thought someone who knew what they were actually doing and talking about would do.

He lifted the glass in the dim light to inspect the color and transparency of it. He swirled it around his glass and a little bit before giving it a sniff like he's seen in wine commercials. He finally brought the glass to his lips and took a sip.

It was surprisingly smooth. And wow was it strong. Dean was not expecting such a hard hitter. He tried to conceal his surprise, as well as the burn in his throat, as much as he could. You didn't need much of this stuff for a good time. Not much more for a really, really, bad time.

In a very nasally fake British accent, Dean said, "in my humble opinion I think this drink is a fine brandy."

Now J smiled a real, true smile for the first time that night and it took Dean's breath away. Even more so than the alcohol had.

"Although I think you are full of shit, you are right. It is a brandy. It's a German brandy called Asbach Uralt. It has a nice finish and one hell of a kick. I only save it for special occasions."

"That explains why this looks like an older bottle and yet there's not much gone." Dean thought out loud.

"It was actually my mom's. It's gotta be 20 years old by now. She always had a bottle of this stuff around. So did my dad out of tradition; though he was never a drinker. I try to keep that tradition alive as well. She never had a chance to open this one." J paused and look down at the bottle before grabbing it and running her thumb over the yellowing and slightly-peeling label.

"I don't often have reasons to celebrate." J sighed, almost to herself.

J's tone was somewhat solemn. Her expression was one of fondness and one of pain.

"Will you tell me what happened to her?" Dean asked before taking another sip. It burned his throat like the question he had asked. But the finish was nice. He hoped the answer she would give him would follow suit.

J put the bottle to the side before looking back up at Dean. Emotions that had just lingered there were gone. Instead, she looked more at ease than she had all night. Her shoulders visibly fell. How had he not noticed that she had been so tense and wound up until this point?

J took a deep breath, letting out a long sigh before starting.

"I was eight. She died on an assignment for the organization she worked for. Something went wrong and she had to sacrifice herself to save her team." J paused for a moment. "I am honored to be her daughter. Although I could live without the notoriety of it." She finished sarcastically.

"What kind of organization did she work for!?" Dean blurted out harshly without thought, slightly horrified and intensely disturbed. Both at his question and her answer.

J took in the look on his face and then smiled a lopsided grin that had no place in a conversation like this.

"An organization that my dad also worked for. The same organization that I work for. That is my Family Business. It's my job. I have a real job in this supernatural world we live in." J said as she rested her chin on her hand and observed Dean's reactions.

Before Dean could ask another question, J cut him off again. She had the uncanny timing of doing this right before the words could form in his mouth. He was starting to get used to it. As odd as it was. "Also, about the question, I cut you off from asking earlier: The answer is yes. What happened at the diner with that redhead was all me."

Dean's train of thought halted as he reeled at her statement. He gave her a surprised look before managing to say, "How?"

J smiled and looked down into her drink. "I call it Fuck Off Powder. It's also known as Quitting Powder or Love Fix Powder. A simple concoction of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered newsprint from the book she was reading, that one was reading 50 Shades of Grey. Of all things… I was not a fan of what she was thinking about doing to you. People get the wrong ideas from those books. Physical and emotional abuse and BDSM do _NOT _go hand in hand. It makes me sick. Anyway, I digress. I also added some tobacco from one of her cigarettes for potency and BAM. You saw first hand what happens when it's done right."

Dean was speechless for a moment. Trying to process everything J had just told him.

Before he could respond she held up a hand. She had something else to say.

"Dean, tonight I am an open book. You can ask me anything you want. Gods know I have given you question after question with little to no answers. I can only imagine what you have thought of on your own. The conclusions that you have already come to. I half expected you to come with a notebook. Or not show up at all…" J chuckled nervously then at the thought before she continued.

"I will be completely honest with you; with whatever questions you have. To the best of my knowledge and abilities. I promise you that. However, please know that there are some things I am bound not to talk about. I mean it's bigger than some NDA contract or my willingness to share. I metaphorically, and sometimes literally, cannot speak about certain things. But I will always tell you why I cannot answer if that is the case."

J paused to gauge Dean's reaction as she took another sip of her drink. He noticed this, and relaxed his shoulders and composed his face into a hopefully passably nonchalant expression. He thought he passed inspection as she then continued.

"That being said, start with the questions with the easiest answers, or the most pressing ones and let's keep the really deep ones for when we both have a few more drinks in us. I am not going to lie when I say some of this shit is straight-up just a history lesson and can get incredibly involved and complicated. It gets tedious and boring, as well. But…You need to know in order to understand."

Dean nodded his head slowly taking in everything she had said while taking another sip of his own drink. He weighed a few questions as he studied her more. But he wanted to say something before they got into the nitty-gritty of everything. And he would be damned if she would interrupt him this time. He felt like this was one of the most important things he was going to say tonight.

Dean looked back down into his drink before he began, slightly afraid and embarrassed to look up as he spoke. "J, before we get into all this, I want to tell you something. My view and opinion of you has not changed. I am not afraid of you. I do not think any less of you. I do not think you are anything to be afraid of or anything that I would have any intention of hunting. I will admit, when you first told me, it was like a sucker punch to the gut. I did not know what to think. I did not know what to feel or how to handle it."

Dean looked up from his drink to gauge J's reaction. At this point, the look on her face gave away her feelings. Her eyes were wide with worry and her hands had disappeared below the table. Dean assumed they were in those worried fists again like they had been back in the Impala.

Before she could stop him, or continue on the path he could see her going down, he continued. "But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The more things fell into place. In fact, I think I am more in awe than anything else. Than I ever was before. I just wanted to let you know that you can tell me anything. I am not afraid and I will not judge you. In fact, I want to know everything you are willing to tell me…"

Dean trailed off as he looked into those duo-toned eyes that had captivated him from that first moment. The fear in them that he had seen moments ago, had vanished. They were soft, staring into his soul. And he more than welcomed it. He wanted her to see right through him and know he meant every word he had said. As well as everything he couldn't bring himself to say.

They sat there for a few moments. They were both openly looking at each other now. Taking in the other as if they were fascinating science specimens. Neither afraid that the other was watching.

J suddenly spoke. Taking Dean off-guard. "Can I ask you something? I don't want to intrude, but I want you to tell me, Dean. What are you thinking about? Right now?" J asked as she slowly tilted her head slightly to one side. Her eyes were flashing again. Dark green and deep brown were Dean's new favorite colors.

"I could just reach in and find out for myself, but that would be rude…" she trailed off and looked away as finished. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and worried it as she waited for an answer.

Dean just openly stared for a second before answering truthfully.

"I'm thinking about how incredible you look. Breathtaking doesn't begin to cover it. You are a beautiful woman and that dress is absolutely killing me, in all honesty. Besides that obvious observation, I'm thinking of the way everyone looked at you and went silent earlier. How you have an effect on people. How you have had an effect on Sam and I. I'm thinking about that blonde. I'm thinking about what and how you did what you did to her. I am wondering how all of that is connected to your…. Abilities." Dean said the last word a lot quieter than the rest of his confession as he swirled the liquor in his glass.

He desperately wanted to look back up at her, but being honest and direct was not something Dean Winchester was used to.

"We can speak openly here, by the way. The booth on the other side of us is reserved, by me, specifically for that reason. I did not want to run the risk of being overheard and I wanted complete privacy tonight."

J looked around the club, slowly scanning all of the patrons, obviously thinking of what to say next.

"As for my effect on people and my surroundings, that ties in with my ability to read minds, dream walk, all of that. It is more so the power of persuasion than anything. I have a secret siren song that you are unaware of but react to nonetheless. Basically, I can't make anyone do anything, but I can persuade them to a certain extent. More so than anyone is consciously aware of. Power of will plays a lot into that. Anyone can overcome my persuasion, if they are aware and really wanted to. Most just let it happen, and are completely unaware, and you have seen firsthand what that entails."

J sighed heavily and looked back into Dean's eyes. The look in her them was one of confusion and tension now.

"What happened with the blonde is something I'm still getting used to and mastering. I'm not quite sure how it works myself. My abilities reach further than just the mind-stuff. In this case, if I feel something strongly enough, I can make things manifest. I'm still figuring out how exactly that works and how to control it. It surprised even me. That is as much as I know and can tell you. In all honesty, it just kind of happened. I willed it, and then it was. I am at a loss of how else to explain it. I'm still learning about the extent of my abilities and how to control them…"

J took another sip from her glass while Dean stared at her, mouth slightly open. He was somewhat intimidated now. If she could manage to pull what she had earlier with Madison, without fully knowing what she did or how she did it, she must be powerful.

He was as interested in her raw power as he was with everything else about her. Before he could finish this train of thought she spoke again.

"Now the ball is in your court. I know you must have so many questions beyond what you have already asked. So, ask away. I have already interrupted with a question of my own and I promised myself wouldn't do that. I promised myself to let you take the wheel."

Dean looked up as he took another sip. He could already feel the alcohol running through his veins, that's how strong this stuff was. Liquid courage to the rescue. This was going to turn into one hell of a night.

Before he could stop himself, he asked one of the questions that had been running through his mind constantly and consistently since almost the day they had met.

"Why did you stop visiting me in my dreams?" Dean's eyes widened before he looked down and took another gulp of his drink.

J reached for the bottle, uncorking it and topping off both of their glasses.

"I thought it was an invasion of privacy and you knew what I was doing. You neither confirmed nor denied the fact that you wanted me back. So, I stayed away to be sure."

Dean nodded as the burn in his throat slowly faded as he looked back up from his hands folded on the tabletop.

"Why do you seem… sad asking me that question?" J asked as she sipped at her own drink. Her eyes were searching his, though he knew she was refraining from reading him.

Without thinking, Dean answered, "I thought you didn't want to visit me anymore."

J looked up from her drink, a surprised look on her face. The surprised look turned to that of a genuine smile.

"To be honest, it has been difficult. Staying away. The vibration of your mind, the frequency, the way it works, something, is different than anyone else's that I have ever encountered. It's how I knew you needed an out that one night with the redhead. It came to me as easily as if you were standing right next to me back at The Roadhouse. It seems that for you and your thoughts, distance is not an issue like it is with everyone else."

They both looked at each other. Dean was at a loss for words because J had answered another one of the questions he had been dying to ask. How she had known to have Jo call him. How she had known he needed a reason to bail. The additional thought of being different than anything else she's encountered made his heart swell.

Dean felt special. J took a deep breath as her cheeks flushed and she looked back down at her drink before she continued speaking. The cute, shy girl was back.

"It's not like I have not wanted to visit. I have stopped myself more times than I care to admit. I didn't want to scare you off. It's just that it wouldn't have been right since I didn't know until now, that I was wanted…That I had permission. Had I known; things would have been a bit different."

The strawberry-blonde J had called Lucy earlier finished another song and both Dean and J turned and clapped politely with the rest of the club.

Dean turned back to J, admiring her profile as she looked over at the stage. He enjoyed being able to just look and admire such beauty without feeling like a creep. He was not afraid of J turning back to him only to find him staring. In fact, he wished she would turn back around and look at him.

He craved her attention he was starting to realize.

A sudden fire burned low in his stomach and Dean was sure it had everything to do with the woman in front of him. Plus, the alcohol now starting to run through his veins was boosting his confidence now. He had more questions to ask.

A lot more questions.

But J wasn't turning back to him, though. She was still facing the stage. Now there was a strange expression on her face.

Dean furrowed his eyebrows and followed her gaze and saw Lucy up on stage mouthing unheard words while staring right back at J.

For a second Dean thought the microphone had malfunctioned and that her voice was not being amplified. Then he realized he couldn't hear anything _at all._

If Lucy was singing, he sure as hell would be able to hear her voice from here. Microphone or not. They were not that far from the stage, and they were right off the dance floor.

It was then that Lucy really did start singing to this new song. Like nothing had happened. Her eyes were back roving the crowd, stopping on his brother every few moments. Dean even though he saw her wink at Sam.

J finally turned back to him. He turned back to her with what must have been a bewildered look on his face.

"What was that about?" Dean asked, obviously interested and not hiding the fact that he had noticed the whole thing.

J chuckled and took another sip of her drink. The pink in her cheeks coming forward again.

"I can read lips. It's part of my training. You know. For my job… They all think it's because I have hearing problems and I'm shit at ASL. Which_ is _true. That and I can't just go around and use my psychic mojo all the time. People would eventually catch on. Most are not that stupid." J blushed again, giggled, and smirked to herself.

Dean could become addicted to the sound.

J sighed again and finished "She asked me if I would close out the night with a surprise performance."

Dean tilted his head side to side like a dog as he tried to understand what she had just said.

"Surprise performance?" Dean asked breathlessly, still not quite understanding.

J looked off over at Lucy again before she answered.

"You'll see. Let's see what I can come up with. Even I have no clue what I'm going to do. This is only the second time I've said yes since I stopped performing. She's using my drinking against me. That bitch." J said with a smile as she turned back and lifted her glass.

J took another sip. The smile growing on her face.


End file.
